Pollution Science 101 - Iran

Editor: Michael James Ross

March 8th, 2022

Updated: January 27th, 2023

Website: MonsantoInvestigation.com

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Section 1: Environment
Section 2: Forests, Wildlife & Climate
Section 3: Iran & Global Terrorism

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Section 1: Environment

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THE ROLE OF WATER AND WIND IN YARDANG FORMATION IN IRAN AND ON MARS.

2017

Introduction: Yardangs are wind-eroded ridges common in regions of Mars and in the most arid deserts on Earth. Yardangs have also been documented on both Venus and Titan. Landform-scale yardangs are commonly divided into two groups based on size: mega-yardangs (kilometers in length) and me-so-yardangs (meters in length). While all yardangs are elongated ridges, the morphology of mega-yardangs and meso-yardangs can differ greatly. Iran: The Lut Desert of Iran is one of the world’s hottest and driest deserts. The western side of the desert is dominated by a fleet of yardangs ~115 km long and ~66 km wide. The Lut Desert’s famous mega-yardangs (known as “shahr lut”, or “kalut” meaning desert cities or villages) can be up to 60 m high and tens of kilometers long. In planview the Lut mega-yardangs appear to conform to the classic yardang shape: an elongate ridge with a tapered downwind tail. From the ground, however, the flanks of the kalut are not aerodynamically shaped and show no signs of strong wind erosion. Instead wind erosion is visible on the floors of the troughs between the ka-lut. This mode of formation, achieved through pro-gressive deepening of interyardang “aeolian couloirs” was first described for yardangs fleets in Chad. The flanks of the mega-yardangs are instead coated with a thick (up to a meter or more) carapace of salt-rich clay. This coating is formed through the wetting of the yardang surface by infrequent rains. The rain carries the clays and salts in solution and moves them down the flanks of the yardang, progressively hardening them against further erosion. The mega-yardang flanks are also extensively gullied, and a very shallow groundwater system exists on some ridges whereby rain falling on the top of the enters holes in the cara-pace and re-emerges towards the bottom of the ridge. This clay carapace forms assymetrically—it is well-developed on the western flanks of the yardangs but not on the eastern flanks, which are characterized by steep cliffs showing original lacustrine bedding planes. The interyardang, by contrast, is characterized by a combination of migrating sand dunes and an actively eroding surface. These low areas are exposed to abra-sion via saltating sand, causing exposed sections of lacustrine sediment to be sculpted into classic meso-yardangs consisting of long ridges with bulbous heads, occasional upwind moats, overhangs, and aerodynam-ic, tapered tails.

The main mega-yardang fleet ends sharply at its northern boundary, where it is replaced by a dense fleet of large meso-yardangs, ranging from 25 to 250 m long and 20-50 m wide. These yardangs have much less relief than the mega-yardangs. The main differ-ence between these two areas is the influence of a large salt swamp caused by rivers draining into the Lut from the north. The contours of the flood zone follows the morphologic change between mega-yardangs and meso-yardangs. This is likely because the salt swamp, with its hard surface crusts and near-surface thick, wet, mud prevents the interyardangs from being deepened

Mars: On Mars, major occurrences of yardangs are found in the Medusae Fossae Formation, a large, fine-grained deposit near the Martian equator [e.g., 8]. As in the Lut Desert, different sizes of yardangs with dif-ferent morphologies are present. Unlike the Lut, whose yardangs are coated with a thick carapace and carved into pluvial gullies, the Martian yardangs generally have faceted flanks characteristic of yardangs un-touched by rain (such as the yardangs in Campo de Piedra Pomez, in northern Argentina). While most of the interyardang couloirs in the Lut Desert are filled with sand, this is not usually the case on Mars. On Mars, many have no interyardang sediment at all or
have interyardangs filled with transverse aeolian ridges (TARs), which are thought to be gravel ripples. Gravel ripples are also common in the Lut, but the paucity of interyardang sand dunes is more characteris-tic of a place like Campo de Piedra Pomez. Evidence for the past presence of water is common in some parts of the Medusae Fossae Formation, espe-cially in Aeolis Dorsa, where hundreds of inverted channels have been documented. Alluvial fan textures are also found in limited locations throughout the deposit. Yardangs in fluvial regions of Aeolis Dor-sa have similar morphologies to the northern meso-yardangs of the Lut: shorter and lower profile forms that appear embayed at their bases. This morphology could suggest the presence of a salt swamp or periodic flooding at the time of yardang formation.

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2017/pdf/2571.pdf

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High-speed winds batter parts of western Iran

March 25, 2018

https://iranpress.com/content/915

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A wind tunnel experiment to investigate the effect of polyvinyl acetate, biochar, and bentonite on wind erosion control

2018

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03650340.2018.1548765

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Wind erosion measurement on fallow lands of Yazd-Ardakan plain, Iran

2008

https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_36300.html

Abstract

Wind erosion is a significant problem on 20 million ha of Iran, especially in central plains and coastal areas. Wind erosion samplers, meteorological equipments and measurement procedure have been developed over the last two centuries to measure the particles moving across the field in modes of creep, saltation and suspension. In recent research as the first technical measurement in Iran, wind erosion was measured with these advanced procedures. Field data was collected from a small (1.9 ha), square, fallow field with nonerodible boundaries. Wind erosion measurement equipment containing 14 clusters with samplers at 0.05, 0.10, 0.25, and 0.50 and 1.0m above the soil surface and a 4× surface creep sampler (0 to 0.02m height by 0.005m wide) was arranged in a circular pattern. The sampling cluster consisted of an array of five samplers each attached to a pivoting wind vane and each mounted at a different height on a central pole. This permitted field erosion data collection regardless of the wind direction and provided a range of field lengths with a minimum number of sampler locations. A combination equation of power and exponential functions expressed the variation of transition material to a height of 2m. An exponential model described the horizontal distribution of transported soil in the field. Twelve single events were recorded and analyzed between May 2006 and May 2007. Several inherent soil properties such as soil texture, organic matter and calcium carbonate content affect the erodibility of soil and change very slowly in research time. Other properties, such as surface roughness and aggregate crust strength are temporal and change rapidly in response to climatic conditions.
Total soil mass transported across the fallow field was measured at 220.93 kg/m per year and soil loss at 1.356 kg/m2 (13.56 ton/ha) per year.

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The spatial distribution of critical wind erosion centers according to the dust event in Hormozgan province (south of Iran)

August 2018

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0341816218301747

Abstract

Wind erosion and its consequent dust storms has become one of the environmental risks in today's world, which has annually caused non-compensable destruction in environment and human health. Since wind erosion is one of the main factors of desertification which could result in dust storms, studying and locating the wind erosion centers in southern parts of Iran is of crucial importance. The aim of this study is to determine the spatial distribution of wind erosion centers associated to local dust event in Hormozgan province (south of Iran). Different factors such as soil features, climate, surface roughness, vegetation cover, topography and the length wind exposure should be investigated for zoning the potential wind erosion regions. Studies showed that many of these factors are relatively uniform for the study region. Therefore, zoning based on all of the above-mentioned factors is not efficient. For this reason, soil texture along with vegetation cover and topography were studied in the current study to zone wind erosion. First, satellite data of soil texture, normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), and topography were used to address the potential regions of wind erosion in warm and cold periods of the year by ArcGIS. Then, the data of 14 synoptic stations in Hormozgan province were utilized to plot the maps of dust event occurrences. Finally, by combination of the satellite and synoptic data, the map of land sensitivity toward wind erosion was provided, and the obtained results were compared with observations of Forest, Ranges and Watershed Organization (FRWO) of Hormozgan province. The results indicated that there are potential regions for wind erosion and dust sources in the study region. In a way that coastal areas have the highest probability to become wind erosion centers. In this regard, Jask, Bandarabbas and Bandar Lengeh are the first three regions in terms of wind erosion; while Abu Musa has the lowest priority in terms of possessing wind erosion centers. Also, it was revealed that sensitivity to wind erosion and dust storms was higher in warm periods of the year as compared with the cold seasons. The results of this study are in agreement with the observations of FRWO of Hormozgan province. Therefore, desert greening measures and actions to prevent wind erosion can control many of dust storms in the regions.

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Investigation of Sand Drift Potential (Case Study: Yazd – Ardakan Plain)

2012

Abstract

Erosion by wind is one of the most important factors in desert environment. Prevailing winds can shift sand dunes and affect their accumulation. Also, wind regime determines the direction of sand dune mobility. The aim of this research was to investigate sand drift potential using sand movement models. For this research, wind data between 1986 and 2005 from the meteorological station of Yazd were acquired to examine sand drift potential (DP), and erosive storm winds through different methods. The sand drift potential values show that the resultant drift direction (RDD) is from southwest-west towards northeast-east. The unidirectional index value is 0.47. The Yazd – Ardakan plain is under the influence of a low energy wind regime (DP< 200 VU). The DP index should be considered for planning and development projects and conservation work. Calculations show that under a low energy wind regime, the amount of sand drift flow is 15.74 m3 m-1year-1. The angular direction of RDD is 77°, measured clockwise from the geographical north. The trend of sand movement is observed following a clockwise pattern. With regard to the monthly sand rose, it is seen that the resultant drift potential is low in September and October (1.91-2.1) while the highest resultant drift potential occurs in May. The results obtained from the analysis of wind rose data indicated that the direction of prevailing winds in the Yazd basin is generally from west to north-west, and the storm winds have been generally directed northwest, and the frequency of winds of a velocity less than 6 m s-1 (threshold velocity) is 93.79% as observed from Yazd meteorological station.

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.918.7688&rep=rep1&type=pdf

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Land subsidence and soil cracks monitoring by surveying on the clayey plain soils in Central Iran (case study: Yazd City)

2019

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12517-019-4241-3

Abstract

Land subsidence and soil crack has become a global problem and cases of subsidence have been identified in many places around the world. The studied area is clayey plain lands, located in the east of the city of Yazd. In this area, two types of soil crack are created, such as longitudinal and polygonal. To show the land micro movements, as a result of soil diversity after surface wetting and drying intervals, this experiment was done. Direct surveying, soil mechanical and crystal-chemical measurements were essential method of the research. The results showed that all index points were moved in different directions to about 2.3 cm during 11 months. The geochemical and crystal-chemical processes as neoformation of duripan features from amorphous silica in subsurface, where is petrocalsic horizon, have created permanent cracks. The soils according to Soil Taxonomy are Vertisols, and because of aridic soil moisture regime, petrocalcic horizon and duripan have been classified in Leptic Calcitorrerts subgroups. The gilgai formation is the result of soil moisturing and drying alternation in wet and dry months. Because of unstable land in this area, avoiding urban and rural developments is recommended.

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Effects of Nanoclay on Some Physical Properties of Sandy Soil and Wind Erosion

2015

https://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ijss.2016.9.13

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Effect of Nanoclay on Wind Erosion a Sandy Loam Soil in Segzi Region (Isfahan, Iran)

2016

Abstract

Wind erosion is one of the major causes of sandy desertification in arid regions. Wind erosion is considered to be the main process of land degradation, crop damage and sedimentation. In this study, wind tunnel experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of nanoclay at three different application rates on soil wind erosion control. The nanoclay isolated from soils was dominant in montmorillonite clay. A sandy loam soil was applied, which was from the Segzi, Isfahan. The soils of this area are structurally unstable and these are highly erodible for most seasons. The soil samples were treated with three treatments: Untreated samples as control, nanoclay at a rate of 0.5 and 1.5 g L^–1 were uniformly spread on the soil surface. The treatments were performed in the condition with wind velocity of 10 m sec^–1 at 5.0 min, in three repetitions. The results showed that the content of soil erosion was significantly higher in control compared to the nanoclay treatments. The soil erosion content significantly decreased with the increase of nanoclay concentration and 97.4 and 100% decreased in 0.5 and 1.5 g L^–1 in compared with control, respectively. The results showed that the mean weight diameter significantly increased in 0.5 g L^–1 (0.403 mm) and 1.5 g L^–1 (0.481 mm) in compared with control (0.345 mm). Also, the proportion of aggregates >1 mm significantly increased with the increase of nanoclay concentration.

https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=jest.2016.296.300

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Wind erosion control using inoculation of aeolian sand with cyanobacteria

February 28, 2020

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ldr.3590

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Could Iran’s sand storms be fought with nanotechnology?

11/16/2017

In Iran, sand and dust storms are a persistent, worsening problem. Climate

change and water mismanagement have transfigured whole regions of the country in the last half-century, notably in the southeast and the southwest, where these storms swallow up entire villages and make the air very difficult to breathe. Since the 1960s, the authorities have used petrol-based mulch to try to stabilise the ground in dry areas. But now, inventors are testing out less harmful organic mulches – including one created using nanotechnology.

As far as I know, this is the only organic mulch in the world created using nanotechnology. As of now, it costs 2,000 Tomans per litre (about €0.45) and every litre can cover 10 square metres. It’s much cheaper than petrol-based mulch. [Editor’s Note: For an hectare, petrol-based mulch costs about 10 million Tomans (more than €21,000)] my mulch would cost about two million Tomans (€425).

Iran’s top environmental official, Masoumeh Ebtekar, had my mulch tested and verified the results many times to see that it really worked. However, the government hasn’t deployed it; I hope it will do so in the future. The petrol-based mulch industry is a multimillion dollar industry, so this situation is not going to change overnight.

https://observers.france24.com/en/20171110-could-iran-sand-storms-petrol-fight-nanotechnology

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Hypersaline Environments of Iran: Prokaryotic Biodiversity and Their Potentials in Microbial Biotechnology

July 27, 2018

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-981-13-0329-6_9

Hypersaline environments are widespread in all parts of the world. Iran is a country with continental climate. Saline lakes and wetlands are found everywhere in Iran, and most of them are seasonal lakes and only have water in winter and spring and with increasing sunlight, they become dry. In recent years, several studies have been carried out on biodiversity and biotechnological applications of isolated microorganisms from different hypersaline lakes of Iran, and they were categorized into two groups. First, the ecological and taxonomic studies and second the studies on biotechnological applications of native microorganisms. In this chapter, we described different saline environments of Iran and notified the studies about diversity of halophilic microorganisms in these environments. Furthermore, we discussed studies that exhibited the biotechnological potential and/or application of these native halophilic and halotolerant microorgnisms...

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2 million fish found dead in Tehran’s Fashafuyeh dam

April 23, 2014

Some 2 million fish are found dead in Tehran province's Fashafuyeh dam due to water pollution.

Reports suggest that the incident has happened because the Vavan housing complex's sewage system goes directly into the lake.

Mohsen Shokati, head of Rey City Environmental Protection Office, said that over 30 tons of fish have been killed in the past few days.

"Previously the housing complex's sewage system poured into the lake through a canal, but now it directly goes to the lake," he noted.

https://en.trend.az/iran/2266592.html

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Iran’s second largest lake completely dried out due to government dams

December 15, 2018

https://irannewswire.org/irans-second-largest-lake-completely-dried-out-due-to-government-dams/

Bakhtegan Lake, once Iran’s second largest lake in the southern province of Fars, has now turned into barren land as dams built by the Iranian government dried out its source.

Bakhtegan Lake was home to a variety of animals including flamingos and other birds which migrated from Russia and Siberia and played a very important role in the region’s ecosystem.

The lake also increased humidity in the otherwise dry region. Due to the high altitude of the surrounding mountains, the moisture stayed in the area and helped trees prosper in the area.

According to the ILNA state-run news agency, Bakhtegan Lake completely dried out after dams were built on its water source, the Kor River. The drying out of the lake had led to numerous problems for the people in the region in addition to environmental issues.

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Iraqi rivers under threat from dams in Iran and Turkey

Aug 29, 2020

https://mg.co.za/environment/2020-08-29-iraqi-rivers-under-threat-from-dams-in-iran-and-turkey/

With its neighbours Turkey and Iran activating new dams, Iraq’s historic twin rivers could run dry — unless new infrastructure projects and tense talks with the neighbouring countries bear fruit.

Nowhere is the effect on the country more palpable than in Basra, Iraq’s only coastal province.

Here, the Tigris and Euphrates — on which millions of Iraqis rely to farm — meet at the Shatt al-Arab waterway before spilling into the Gulf.

But with flows already heavily weakened, seawater is pushing back into the freshwater rivers, strangling wildlife and human settlements that have survived on these banks for millennia.

“Salinity has gone up in recent years and it’s killing the farmlands,” said Abu Shaker, a 70-year-old man who has spent decades growing Iraq’s famed date palms.

Now, with so little fresh water, Abu Shaker and fellow farmers have left their ancient palms withering on cracked and salty earth, moving north in search of potable water.

“Before, we could sell our dates in the Gulf and as far as the United States,” he said.

“Now, you can see with your own eyes. This whole river died.”

Iraq’s water woes aren’t new. But with increasing regional desertification and population growth, Turkey and Iran are keener than ever to keep precious water resources for themselves.

Their new dams on the Tigris and Euphrates, and the tributaries that feed them, have reduced water flows into Iraq by half, said Baghdad’s water minister, Mehdi al-Hamdani.

But he remains hopeful, with plans in the works to improve access across the country and guarantee drinking water to all, even in a worst-case scenario.

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As Turkey and Iran build dams, Iraqis watch twin rivers dry up

August 26, 2020

Seawater is pushing back into freshwater rivers, strangling wildlife, human settlements

https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/as-turkey-and-iran-build-dams-iraqis-watch-twin-rivers-dry-up-1.73433995

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Iran uses water pollution as weapon to undermine Basra, Iraq’s economy

November 17, 2017

Iran’s bag has never been empty of ploys and plots to destroy Iraq. Along with the role it has played in destabilizing the country using its Shia militias to commit heinous crimes and violations, Tehran is currently using another weapon to sabotage Iraq, namely polluting Shatt al-Arab River by its waste water.
According to Ahmed al-Saliti, a member of Basra provincial council, Iran has leaked its waste water, which is full of environmental pollutants, seeping into the Iraqi territory.
In press statements, al-Saliti said that Iran grows sugar cane along the border line, which leaks saltwater, which seeps into a low border area, located between the two countries.

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/19766/Iran-uses-water-pollution-as-weapon-to-undermine-Basra-Iraq-s-economy?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=339646174e198a2429b30363d588558376a2c626-1600255562-0-AeLBAiVjW8zajPhWToWQTB8j6v66ZCrjyZgiwbsmzPqGJl44VetZMXTCPq12zVqcIJEfqBZJuoWizbIxqyoxDVnvOd-gnf-UL7XFqaXRV_6qzg-0oeiunLk1GICz8smauZQekecBYawLgk24-YBbwENPbRpfl5lr4FLW3jSVoWCI71KfE11LC9yGU3xWa8-GcrGjr2LocMouusGQpmKF-K41gauTl1lNQwsiROv6pFO7J_nh7ZsfiDzwO7xz9XCLu5ub5jf_qolEf5w11o-_Rn0gzG2zUIaddLumx-jZHOBeoOiW6jPGmHDcZj1t46qNth_9L1hdyvKNL7WLkBbPr1dtL6rbRW1tnoIMgVwgkmqGr7X_RkKRoTVMNyew4ZMQEA

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Water pollution lays waste to Iraq's oil-rich south

August 31, 2018

Dead fish lie on the bank of a reservoir at a fish farm north of Basra in southern Iraq with burning oil fields in the background

Younes Selim clutches his stomach in pain at a hospital in southern Iraq, one of thousands to fall ill in a region flush with oil but desperately short of drinking water.

Sitting in an emergency ward in Basra, along with patients on drips suffering from severe diarrhoea, Selim said he had no choice but to drink from the tap despite knowing the risk.

"We only give mineral water to our three children, but my wife and I often have to drink tap water," he told AFP, waiting for one of the hospital's overwhelmed doctors to treat him.

Since August 12, "more than 17,000 patients have been admitted for diarrhoea, stomach pains and vomiting," said Ryad Abdel Amir, head of Basra's health department.

He said that in his 11 years in the job he has never before seen such a crisis, which has been exacerbated by a lack of public services and rising prices.

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-pollution-iraq-oil-rich-south.html

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Iran’s Great Salt Desert

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/80435/irans-great-salt-desert

October 15, 2011

Roughly 300 kilometers (200 miles) east-southeast of Tehran lies Iran’s Dasht-e Kavir, or Great Salt Desert. To the untrained eye, Dasht-e Kavir looks like a place that has been bone-dry since the dawn of time. But to the well-trained eyes of a geologist, this desert tells a tale of wetter times. Tens of millions of years ago, a salt-rich ocean likely occupied this region, surrounding a microcontinent in what is now central Iran.

The Thematic Mapper on the Landsat 5 satellite captured this natural-color image of Dasht-e Kavir on October 15, 2011. The top image is a wide-area view, and the area outlined in white is then shown in the close-up view below.

Dasht-e Kavir is a complex landscape, but it can be mostly explained by the invasion and subsequent evaporation of an ancient ocean. As the ocean dried up, it left behind a layer of salt as much as 6 to 7 kilometers (4 miles) thick. Salt has a fairly low density, so if a layer of new rock buries the salt layer—and if that overlying rock is soft enough—the salt can slowly push up through it and form domes.

As its name implies, the Great Salt Desert is rich in salt domes, or diapirs. Geologists have identified about 50 large salt diapirs in this region. Like any other surface feature, a salt dome is subject to erosion. Wind and rain scrape away particles of rock, gradually wearing away the top of the dome and exposing it in cross-section.

But erosion is not the only force at work in this region. In the close-up view, we can see north-south-trending structures, some raised and some lowered. Callan Bentley, a geologist at Northern Virginia Community College, identifies them as folds or fault zones that run parallel to the trend of the region’s mountains. Bentley attributes the deformation of the salt domes to plate tectonic activity that has occurred since the salt domes formed. Bentley describes the landscape as a “a palimpsest tale that helps constrain the age of the diapirism to pre-folding.”

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The World's Most Saline Bodies Of Water

8. Lake Urmia, Iran (Salt Lake)

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-world-s-most-saline-bodies-of-water.html

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'Blood Lake' Blooms in Iran

July 26, 2016

Lake Urmia in Iran turned from green to red in just a few months, as increasing salinity in the water spurred the growth or organisms producing red pigment.

https://www.livescience.com/55548-blood-lake-blooms-in-iran.html

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Iraq's Bloody Lake

This blood-red lake outside Iraq's Sadr City garnered a fair share of macabre speculation when it was noticed in 2007. One tipster told the tech blog Boing Boing that he was "told by a friend" that slaughterhouses in Iraq sometimes dump blood into canals. No one has offered an official explanation, but it's more likely that the color comes from sewage, pollution or a water-treatment process.

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1881770_1881787_1881782,00.html

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Water turned into "blood" near the Dead Sea?

Sep 12, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZVvrr4Ifqk

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An inexplicable "tide of blood" in Hormuz, Iran

May 16, 2019

https://www.yourweather.co.uk/news/trending/an-inexplicable-tide-of-blood-in-hormuz-iran.html

This video has gone viral in the last few hours; presenting a "scientifically inexplicable tide of blood". A mystery or a hoax? We'll explain what's behind this spectacular phenomenon.

In the last few hours, this video has gone viral; showing a 'sea of blood' coming from the island of Hormuz, in Iran. The description talks about the mysterious condition of the phenomenon: "scientists and experts find no explanation". However, that's not true. You need only dig into the 'timeline' of the author, Ali Marsal, to understand the total naturalness within which the panorama is framed. Hormuz is actually quite a touristy part of the Persian Gulf precisely because of it – the red colour of the landscape and the water: the Red Beach.

The soil of Hormuz has a high concentration of iron oxide that gives the landscape a characteristic reddish hue. In places where the sand is redder, the waves in the sea become tinged with pink. This has been used for decades in the industry of dyeing, cosmetics, glass and ceramics – with lots of exporting going on from places like this. In travel blogs, it's easy to find references to the island associating its landscape with rainbows, due to the rich colours of its land and rocks – the "multicoloured mountains". You can also find red beaches in Europe, for example in Muskiz or in the Basque Country in Spain, and on Prince Edward Island in Canada.

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Water turned into "blood" near the Dead Sea? | Micah 7,15 | 12 sep 2021

Sep 12, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZVvrr4Ifqk

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The bloody sea of Hormuz Island

May 16, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=5aGfoV4PEPQ&feature=emb_logo

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Maharlu lake (Pink Lake)

https://irantourismcenter.com/maharlu-lake/

Maharlu lake (Pink Lake) is one of the wonders of nature. This beautiful wonder is located in Iran, in Fars province, and in Delgasha Shiraz. This beautiful and attractive lake is located in the southeast of Shiraz. Shiraz is a city of love, poetry, and literature. Shiraz is full of historical sights and a monument to the greats of literature and history.

Maharlu Pink Lake is located in the southeastern part of Shiraz with Safa and 57 km from Shiraz to Fasa road. The lake is located next door to an old village of the same name. Maharlu village is a very old village that dates back to the Safavid era. In the past, the village of Maharlu was called Dasht-e Gol.

What makes this beautiful lake a special and general city and attracts domestic and foreign tourists from all cities or even other countries is its pink color.

Why is this lake pink?

The intensity of water evaporation in this lake is very high. This intense evaporation has increased the salinity of the lake. The rising salinity of the lake has led to the proliferation of certain red algae. The name of this red seaweed is a special red dragon. Excessive growth and proliferation of these algae in Maharloo pink lake have caused the color of the water to turn red. It is interesting to know that the presence of this algae in the lake has made it impossible for any living thing to live in this lake.

As mentioned, the lake’s excessive salinity has prevented aquatic organisms, especially fish, from living in the lake. But in the corners of Maharlu’s pink lake, reptiles such as lizards, snakes, and turtles can be seen. In addition, this beautiful red lake is home to some birds. Some birds are permanent residents of the lake, while others migrate to the lake during the summer.

Maharlu Lake is home to many migratory and non-migratory reptiles and birds. It can also be called Salt Lake because it has salty water. Lack of rainfall, overheating of the land and further evaporation of lake water have dried up many parts of the lake. For this reason, the bed of some parts of it is covered with salt and it is used as a source of salt supply for Shiraz.

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Photos: Lake Maharlou Turns Red

04/23/12

http://www.payvand.com/news/12/apr/1234.html

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Evaluation of Dike-Type Causeway Impacts on the Flow and Salinity Regimes in Urmia Lake, Iran

March 2009

https://bioone.org/journals/Journal-of-Great-Lakes-Research/volume-35/issue-1/j.jglr.2008.08.001/Evaluation-of-Dike-Type-Causeway-Impacts-on-the-Flow-and/10.1016/j.jglr.2008.08.001.short

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Evaluation of Heavy Metals Pollution in Lakes Subsoil and Surface Soils in Urmia Eastern Region Using Pollution Indicators

2020

https://iutjournals.iut.ac.ir/jstnar/article-1-3808-en.html

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The Disappearing Lake Urmia of Iran

Apr 30, 2015

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2015/04/the-disappearing-lake-urmia-of-iran.html

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After decades, Iran, Iraq ready to dredge the Shatt al-Arab

May 31, 2019

Iran and Iraq hope to revive the Shatt al-Arab as a source of clean water as well as a generator of increased commerce and tourism.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/05/shatt-al-arab-iran-iraq.html

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Restoring Diverse Ecosystem Services for Lake Urmia, Iran: Moving Beyond a Uniform Target Lake Level

2020

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cee_facpub/3757/

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Iran Using Plants to Fight Dust Pollution in Lake Urmia

September 28, 2018

https://ifpnews.com/iran-using-plants-to-fight-dust-pollution-in-lake-urmia

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Iran’s Lake Urmia: How A Dying Salt Lake Is Being Brought Back From The Brink

May 2020

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2020/05/14/irans-lake-urmia-how-a-dying-salt-lake-is-being-brought-back-from-the-brink/#5dd55b7f165d

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Iran Brings Back Dying Lake From Brink

May 15, 2020

https://kashmirobserver.net/2020/05/15/iran-brings-back-dying-lake-from-brink/

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Iran: decades of unsustainable water use has dried up lakes and caused environmental destruction

August 3, 2020

https://theconversation.com/iran-decades-of-unsustainable-water-use-has-dried-up-lakes-and-caused-environmental-destruction-140565

Salt storms are an emerging threat for millions of people in north-western Iran, thanks to the catastrophe of Lake Urmia. Once one of the world’s largest salt lakes, and still the country’s largest lake, Urmia is now barely a tenth of its former size.

As the waters recede, extensive salt marshes are left exposed to the wind. These storms are getting saltier and are now happening more often – even in the cold and rainy seasons of the year. As more drying uncovers more salt marshes, things will only get worse.

Salt storms pose a direct threat to the respiratory health and eyesight of at least 4 million people living in both rural and urban areas around Lake Urmia. Increasing soil salinity reduces the yield of agricultural and orchard crops grown around the lake, while the lake has shrunk so much that boating is no longer possible, resulting in a loss of tourism.

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Stalagmites from Iranian cave foretell grim future for Middle East climate
New study showed relief from current dry spell unlikely within next 10,000 years

July 10, 2017

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170710091657.htm

Researchers from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science used two stalagmites from an Iranian cave to reconstruct the existing water resources in the Middle East over 130,000 years ago.

The results, which include information during the last glacial and interglacial periods, showed that relief from the current dry spell across the interior of the Middle East is unlikely within the next 10,000 years...

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Glaciers of Iran – in pictures

Dec 2014

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2014/dec/16/glaciers-of-iran-in-pictures

Some of the most unexpected glaciers in the world sit atop Iran’s mountains. Their surprising occurrence in an arid landscape is a boon for people relying on glacial ice for fresh water source. Photographer Klaus Thymann recently led an expedition in three areas across the country as part of a global survey of glaciers. The project is expected to raise awareness of climate change

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Sea surface temperature and salinity from the Global Ocean Surface Underway Data (GOSUD) from 1980-01-03 to present

https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:IODE-GOSUD

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Warming Temperatures & Decades of Oil Spills Cause Irreversible Damage to the Persian Gulf

Aug 10 2020

http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/08/warming-temperatures-decades-oil-spills-cause-irreversible-damage-persian-gulf/

According to estimates by experts, pollution levels in the Persian Gulf are 47 times higher than the world’s average and are steadily increasing.

The 600-mile body of water that is also known as the Arabian Gulf currently has 34 oilfields with more than 800 wells. In addition, roughly 85% of the oil extracted in the Gulf countries is exported – 40% of the world export of crude oil and around 15% of the world’s total export of refined products come from the region – and more than half of all the oil is carried by ships.

It is estimated that approximately 25,000 tanker movements sail in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, the only sea passage that connects the Persian Gulf to the open sea. Accidental spilling is unavoidable and, on average, 100–160 thousand tons of oil and oil products end up in the Gulf every year.

In addition to spills from tankers, oil spills and fires that have been a consequence of military activities that have taken place in the region over the past few decades have also severely contaminated the Persian Gulf.

The world’s largest oil spill, for instance, occurred during the 1991 Gulf War and an estimated 8-11 million barrels were leaked in the Persian Gulf waters as a result.

In an attempt to prevent the UN coalition forces from landing on the beaches of Kuwait that the Iraqi military was occupying at the time, Iraqi troops released oil at the Persian Gulf.

At least eight oil tankers, a refinery, two terminals, and a tank field were dumped in the waters and for at least three months, oil continued to spill into the Gulf at a rate of up to 6,000 barrels a day.

“Some of the oil spilled deep into the sea, burrowing up to 40 cm in the sand and mudflats. It remains there to this day,” writes Nick Barber in coursework published for Stanford University in 2018. “This disaster does not just highlight the responsibilities humans have in managing oil wells, rigs, pipelines, and tankers, it demonstrates how carelessness with a non-renewable energy source and pollutant, purposeful or not, can have devastating long-term environmental impacts that cannot be undone.”

In 2017, ScanEx and the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences began conducting the pilot project on the satellite monitoring of the state of the water of the Persian Gulf.

The results of the research confirmed the severe levels of oil pollution in the gulf waters and the damage, some of it which have been irreversible, on its marine life.

“In addition to military-led pollution, other issues such as warming waters due to climate change and the increasing saline levels due to desalination efforts by countries in the Gulf area aggressively worsening marine productivity and habitats,” says George Stacey, an analyst working with Norvergence, an environmental advocacy NGO.

Oceans are heating at a higher rate than were previously predicted and the Persian Gulf, which is already a relatively warm body of water due to its location and its shallow basin, makes it particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Scientists at the Climate Change Forum at the seventh World Government Summit in Dubai explained that rising sea temperatures could wipe out a third of the gulf’s marine species by 2090.

The findings have also been confirmed by a study conducted a the University of British Columbia (UBC), that a combination of human activities was pushing at least 35 per cent of the fauna in the Gulf waters to extinction in the next 60 years.

“The ongoing damage on the marine and coastal environment is going to impact the marine productivity which will have serious impacts on the health and commerce of the region,” adds Stacey.

Researchers at UBC state that environmental loss will particularly carry a heavy economic impact on fishing industries. Fisheries of Bahrain, with a relatively large fishing industry, and Iran, with the highest catch and fewer employment alternatives due to sanctions, are pointed out to be particularly vulnerable.

“The sea is very important to all the countries in the region and preserving it should be a priority on an individual, national, and regional levels,” says Stacey.

“A lot of the damage done in the past few decades cannot be reversed completely but it is not too late to prioritize the sustainability of the marine ecosystems of the gulf waters right now because any damages to it will trickle down to impact the communities living on its coasts and reverse years of development and advancements.”

----------------------------

Gulf War oil spill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_oil_spill

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Scientists Confirm Florida-Sized Dead Zone in the Gulf of Oman

April 30, 2018

https://e360.yale.edu/digest/scientists-confirm-florida-sized-dead-zone-in-the-gulf-of-oman

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World's largest dead zone in Gulf of Oman is the size of Florida

May 6, 2018

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/world-s-largest-dead-zone-in-gulf-of-oman-is-the-size-of-florida/article/521514

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‘Dead zone’ larger than Scotland found by underwater robots in Arabian sea

April 2018

Scientists say situation is 'worse than feared' after finding almost no oxygen in Gulf of Oman

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/dead-zone-arabian-sea-gulf-oman-underwater-robots-ocean-pollution-discovery-a8325676.html

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Satellite Monitoring of Oil Pollution in the Persian Gulf

January 2018

http://www.scanex.ru/en/company/news/satellite-monitoring-of-oil-pollution-in-the-persian-gulf/

The total area of the detected pollution is found to be 13 835 sq. km. The area of individual spills varied from 0.5 to 600 sq. km. Oil pollution of anthropogenic origin in the Persian Gulf was found almost everywhere (Fig. 3). The vast majority of oil spills is associated with oil and gas production areas, as well as with major shipping routes, some of which run along the long axis of the Gulf and connect large oil terminals and ports. Anomalously large oil spills (240 to 780 sq. km) were detected in the Iranian sector of the Gulf (south off Siri Island) in mid-March 2017 when an emergency discharge occurred at an oil well/platform at the Siri-E oilfield (Fig. 2). According to the SkyTruth experts, 300 to 620 m3 of oil and/or oil products were spilled into the sea.

Fig. 3. Summary map of all oil spills detected in the Persian Gulf in 2017 on the Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B SAR images (thick gray line shows boundaries of the territorial waters).

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Waste dump threatens Arabian Gulf

June 14, 2009

Marine life in danger as waste dump threatens Arabian Gulf

https://gulfnews.com/uae/environment/waste-dump-threatens-arabian-gulf-1.72058

Dubai: Every time desalination plants dump tons of brine carrying chemicals into the Arabian Gulf, sea temperatures rise by 10 degrees Celsius, according to researchers.

This is having life-threatening effects on the marine ecosystem in the region.

More than 12 million cubic metres of sea water, equivalent to 4,800 Olympic swimming pools, are desalinated daily in this region.

The UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran have 120 desalination plants between them. These plants flush nearly 24 tons of chlorine, 65 tons of algae-harming antiscalants used to descale pipes, and around 300kg of copper into the Arabian Gulf every day.

This chemical mixture is affecting seabed organisms and making its way up the food chain. Researchers say the Arabian Gulf is the water body most threatened by desalination.

Removing salt from sea water to provide safe drinking water has allowed severely water-scarce countries to prosper, but the energy intensive desalination process has a definite impact on the marine environment.

According to European studies, the largest number (120) of sea water desalination plants draw water from the Arabian Gulf, and work around the clock to desalinate just under half (44 per cent) of worldwide daily production.

The recently released Arab Environment: Future Challenges 2009 report by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) and Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) echoes this, highlighting that power plants cause thermal pollution and desalination plants release chlorine, brine and thermal loads into sea water.

Mohammad Dawood, acting manager of Water Resources Management at EAD, confirmed that impacts of desalination effluents on the local marine ecosystem are being felt. A link to red tide and brine has not been strictly ruled out either.

"There is no monitoring of long-term effects of desalination. EAD is looking at starting a project to assist and monitor desalination plants. We will check salinity, chemicals, enzymes and brine around the outlet and make better models for dilution," he told Gulf News.

"Organisms and coral reefs are being affected near the coastlines and are dying ... Brine can increase the normal sea temperature by up to 10 degrees Celsius, which has a huge effect on the marine ecosystem."

The marine environment of the Gulf has been degraded over recent years as a result of a wide range of land-based pollution sources and man-made activities.

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Iran Plastic Pollution

https://www.tehrantimes.com/tag/iran+plastic+pollution

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Microplastics reach Lut desert

July 12, 2021

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/463042/Microplastics-reach-Lut-desert

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‘Arab countries responsible for 70% of pollution in Sea of Oman, Persian Gulf’

December 30, 2015

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/251873/Arab-countries-responsible-for-70-of-pollution-in-Sea-of-Oman

“Iran accounts for 30 percent of the wastewater flow into the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf,” Hassan Mohammadi said, adding that, “60 percent of the domestic wastewater flows into the Caspian sea.”

Oil and gas exploitation and tankers shipping out oil through the sea have made the marine environment sensitive to pollution, as out of 21 largest oil spill incidents seven occurred in the Persian Gulf, he pointed.

Additionally, he said, sunken ships can pose problems and are a big threat to the marine environment, “so we have embarked upon a comprehensive removal program for them.”

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Plastic debris and microplastics along the beaches of the Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf.

Jan 30, 2017

https://scinapse.io/papers/2554640201

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Microplastic pollution on the Persian Gulf shoreline: A case study of Bandar Abbas city, Hormozgan Province, Iran.

June 26, 2019

https://europepmc.org/article/MED/31590821

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Neustonic microplastic pollution in the Persian Gulf

January 2020

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X19308136

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Shore litter along sandy beaches of the Gulf of Oman

November 2004

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X04001973

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How the UAE is at the centre of efforts to tackle pollution at sea

Feb 3, 2018

Drones could be the next line of attack in the fight against polluters

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/heritage/how-the-uae-is-at-the-centre-of-efforts-to-tackle-pollution-at-sea-1.701284

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Researchers Find Pollution from Cosmetics in Gulf Waters

Jul 14, 2017

https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2017/07/researchers-find-pollution-cosmetics-gulf-waters/

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Water Pollution in the Arabian Gulf

June 2020

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342180949_Water_Pollution_in_the_Arabian_Gulf

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Iran: "Pollution" Near Nuke Plant

January 3, 2013

https://statement-analysis.blogspot.com/2013/01/iran-pollution-near-nuke-plant.html

Iran to Citizens: Flee Isfahan

Iranian officials have instructed residents of Isfahan to leave the city, renewing concerns that a nearby nuclear site could be leaking radioactive material.
An edict issued Wednesday by Iranian authorities orders Isfahan’s one-and-a-half million people to leave the city “because pollution has now reached emergency levels,” the BBC reported.
However, outside observers suspect that the evacuation order may corroborate previous reports indicating that a uranium enrichment facility near Isfahan had been leaking radioactive material.
Tehran went to great lengths in December to deny these reports, tellingstate-run media outlets that “the rumors about leaking and contamination at Isfahan’s [Uranium Conversion Facility] are not true at all.”
November reports indicated that a radioactive leak might have poisoned several workers at the nuclear plant, which converts highly toxic yellowcake uranium into material that could be used in the core of a nuclear weapon.
The head of Iran’s emergency services agency said at the time that residents have no reason to worry about possible contamination resulting from a possible leak.
Stories about the potential leak soon disappeared from state-run news websites, Trend reported in late November.

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Iran arrests scientists trying to solve water crisis

Aug 3, 2018

https://share.america.gov/iran-arrests-scientists-trying-to-solve-water-crisis/

Cities, towns and farms in Iran are running out of water largely due to poorly administered water resource policies and corruption, driving thousands of people from their homes and inciting protests.

“The protests of the past few months show that the Iranian people are deeply frustrated with their own government’s failures,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this year when he outlined a new Iran strategy. “Government mismanagement of Iran’s natural resources has led to severe droughts and other environmental crises as well,” the secretary said.

And when Iran’s top environmental and water resource experts attempt to identify their country’s severe water shortage problems and offer solutions, the government’s security forces, known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, respond with arrests, torture and intimidation.

Some examples:

    A Canadian-Iranian dual citizen named Kavous Seyed-Emami, managing director of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, died in prison in February under suspicious circumstances.
    Kaveh Madani, a prominent U.S.-educated Iranian water expert, left his academic post in London for Iran in late 2017 to help address the water crisis. Within months, Iranian forces arrested and interrogated him, forcing him to flee the country in April 2018.
    At least 40 more environmentalists were arrested in May, reports the Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Recent protests linked to water scarcity

An increasing number of protests are in areas where drought and water shortages are at a crisis level, especially in the city and environs of Isfahan and numerous towns in the western province of Khuzestan.

In April, Voice of America reported on the days-long street protests in Isfahan, where residents said the government was diverting water to the nearby Yazd province, causing water shortages and damaging farmland.

Street protests in July broke out in Khorramshahr, about 650 kilometers southwest of Tehran. The Associated Press reported residents there complain of “salty, muddy water coming out of their taps.”

The problem stems from the Gotvand Dam on the Karoun River in Khuzestan province that Iran built in 2004 despite environmental impact warnings about the nearby salt beds. Today, the river’s elevated salinity has badly damaged the once agriculture-rich land in the Khuzestan region.

Over the past three decades, Iran has built hundreds of dams, “changing the natural direction of water flow and favoring the elites at the expense of ordinary Iranians, Ahmad Khalid Majidyar, director of IranObserved at Washington’s Middle East Institute, writes.

Majidyar says Iranian leaders blame neighboring countries’ water management policies and other factors for the country’s drought and environmental problems, “yet they largely overlook corruption and mismanagement in the country as well as wrong government policies responsible for the deteriorating crisis across the country.”

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Iran is jailing environmentalists, fearful that they've found pollution from possible nuclear and missile sites

October 16, 2018

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/iran-is-jailing-environmentalists-fearful-that-theyve-found-pollution-from-possible-nuclear-and-missile-sites

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Environment pollution sparks protest in Iran, clashes with police

29 April, 2022

https://yourmiddleeast.com/2022/04/29/environment-pollution-sparks-protest-in-iran-clashes-with-police/

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The Iranian government is killing Ahwaz's environment

July 27, 2017

https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/iranian-government-killing-ahwazs-environment

To Ahwazis, the discovery of oil and other resources has been a scourge that has resulted in the occupation and environmental degradation of their ancestral lands

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New water pollution protests hit southwest Iran, reported clashes with police

July 02, 2018

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2018/07/02/New-water-pollution-protests-hit-southwest-Iran-reported-clashes-with-police.html

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Water Conflict: Protests over Water, Pollution Flare in Iran

July 4, 2018

https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/water-conflict-protests-over-water-pollution-flare-in-iran/

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Rasht's Polluted Rivers Suffer From Neglect, Lack of Funds

December 25, 2017

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/78609/rashts-polluted-rivers-suffer-from-neglect-lack-of-funds

Gohar-roud and Zarjoub rivers in Rasht, Gilan Province, have remained polluted for years mainly due to lack of funds, a city councilor complained.

Fatemeh Shirzad, the head of Health and Environment Commission at Rasht City Council, regretted that the two rivers, whose spectacular landscape was once a tourist attraction, are now among the most polluted rivers of the country.

"Household and industrial wastewaters continue to contaminate the rivers while related organizations refuse to take practical action," she was quoted as saying by Zist Online.

According to the official, very few industrial units in Rasht are equipped with wastewater treatment systems and a majority of them release contaminated water into the rivers.

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Water scarcity and conflict in the Middle East: The story of Khuzestan, Iran

January 11th, 2018

https://water.fanack.com/specials/khuzestan/

Water scarcity is increasingly fueling conflict in the Middle East, for example, in Khuzestan, in the southwest of Iran. The province literally dried up. One of the main reasons are the dams build in Iran itself and in Turkey.

Khuzestan is an oil-rich province on the border with Iraq. Some 85 per cent of all Iranian oil – the lifeblood of the country’s economy – is extracted here. However, large areas of the province have gone from wetland to wasteland in a matter of years.

The primary reason for this transformation can be found in Iran itself. Although climate change and dam construction in Turkey play a role, Iran is largely to blame for the drought. Dam construction on the Karun river, one of Khuzestan’s most critical water resources, has reduced the water supply by two-third.

The river’s decline is immediately evident in Ahvaz, the provincial capital, which straddles both banks of the river. Between the reeds along the water’s edge are piles of clothes and pieces of cardboard that double as mattresses. Clothes are spread out on the rocks to dry. Strangers are regarded with suspicion and occasionally greeted with hostile shouts. This is where the junkies live, in huts that are somewhere between a garden shed and a bird’s nest. Made from rubbish and reeds, they face towards the water and away from society...

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Photos: A Dry Karun River Dreams about Boats

10/09/11

Karun River passes through the city of Ahvaz in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan Province. Karun is another victim of drought and poor planning of the water resources feeding the river. These photos by ISNA photographer Hadi Jafarzadeh show parts of the river that have completely dried out.

http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1093.html

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Looming Disaster, Iran Drought Crisis

June 17, 2018

Irreparable effects of drought on the lives of farmers and other people

Generally, people’s perception of a drought is dry and cracked land without greenery. This is while drought can have severe consequences, including economic, agricultural, employment and cultural issues and can also lead to a social crisis.

Thanks to the regimes ecological policies, the phenomenon has overshadowed the lives of million Iranians.

Health of the residents of Khuzestan Province is jeopardized by the outbreak of hepatitis A and cholera due to severe drought.

The head of the Ahwaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences warned about the effects of water shortages and droughts on the spread of diseases, especially waterborne diseases.

“The monitoring of drinking water and food security are among the duties of the University of Medical Sciences, and in light of current conditions, we will probably face problems,” Dr. Iraj Nazari said.

“Currently, there are reports of hepatitis A in Ahwaz and several other cities in the province of Khuzestan. Also, cholera, with its peak in the first 9 months of the year, can be aggravated by water shortages,” he added referring to waterborne diseases. (The state-run ISNA state-run News Agency – April 4, 2018)

More than 80% of the children in South Khorasan’s villages suffer from skin problems due to water shortage. Mohammad Bagher Ebadi, MP from Birjand, cited that more than 80% of the kids in the villages of South Khorasan Province (east of Iran) suffer from skin problems, and added: “I have seen them from close, time and again during the last three months. Unfortunately, due to water shortage the people there don’t have enough hygiene and cannot have a bath correctly. … About 480 villages at South Khorasan province suffer from water shortage and they receive water by tankers. Many of the watercourses there have dried up.” (The state-run ILNA News Agency- May 24, 2018)

Meanwhile erosion of Iran’s wetlands had led to more sand storms in drier regions causing health problems.

The Head of the Public Relations Office of Zabol University of Medical Sciences said that 78 residents of the Sistan and Baluchestan region went to hospitals and medical centers as a result of sand storms in the province…
“Unfortunately, due to the drying up of our wetlands and sandstorms, the people in the region go to hospitals and medical centers for various health issues, mainly respiratory problems and eye diseases,” Hamid Reza Bazi added. (The state-run Mehr News Agency – April 1, 2018)

Exacerbated by mismanagement, drought has also impacted the lives of millions of people in parched areas, analysts say. It has disrupted people’s income particularly the farmers who accuse local politicians of allowing water to be diverted from their areas in return for bribes. Farmers say that over the years, the government has deprived them of their share of the water sources of the region.

According to the Deputy Director of the Isfahan Regional Water and Waste Management Department, drought conditions and the sharp decline of water resources in Isfahan Province have been unprecedented in the last 50 years, and the amount of water stored in the Zayandeh Roud River dam is 144 million cubic meters, which is only about 10 percent of the volume of the tank. (The state-run IRNA news agency, April 4, 2018)

The situation for the farmers is the same in other cities. The Governor of Nimruz, a city in Sistan and Baluchestan Province said that 12,000 hectares of this city’s autumn crops were completely destroyed due to drought and water shortages. (The state-run ISNA News Agency- April 7, 2018)

Amir Jafari-Qoli, member of the Committee for the Protection of Waters in the province of Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari warned, “With the construction of the Behesht-Abad tunnel, four cities (Ardel, Kiar, Boroudjen, Sharh-e-Kurd) will be transformed into desert.”

According to the environmental experts of the Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad, so far, 40,000 hectares of land in the south of the province have been exposed to desertification due to unauthorized drilling of 1,000 wells.

Cities and villages without water

343 water sources for villages in Sistan & Baluchistan have completely dried up,” said The Director of Villages’ Water and Sewage in Sistan and Baluchistan Province. Abdol-Ahad Rigi added: “1,232 villages have water problems. Delivering water with tankers requires special credits.”

https://iran-hrm.com/index.php/2018/06/17/looming-disaster-iran-drought-crisis/

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Evaluation of Land and Precipitation for Agriculture in Iran

Dec 2016

https://iranian-studies.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj6191/f/publications/evaluation_of_land_and_precipitation_for_agriculture_in_iran.pdf

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Drought turns part of Iran into a new dust bowl

2019

In this corner of the Middle East, a changing climate and debilitating dust storms have brought life to a standstill.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/drought-climate-change-turn-iran-sistan-and-baluchestan-into-dust-bowl/

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Hamun Lake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamun_Lake

Devastation by extreme droughts in 1999-2001

Precipitation variability in the Hindu Kush results in alternating periods of flooding in the Helmand and droughts, which may cause entire lagoons to dry up. This occurred several times in the 20th century when only the uppermost of the lakes remained flooded. Landsat satellite imagery show how dramatic decrease in precipitation resulted in decrease of snow-covered area in the Helmand Basin, from 41,000 km2 in 1998 to 26,000 km2 in 2000. By 2001, Iran and Afghanistan were experienced for the third consecutive year an extreme drought that was so severe that the Hamoun dried out completely.

Sīstān's population, swelled by refugees from war-torn Afghanistan, has been severely affected by water shortages. Irrigation channels have run dry and agriculture has come to a standstill, which has resulted in the abandonment of many villages as people migrate in search of water.

Combination of drought and the massive irrigation proved to be a shock to the wetlands. Within five years period (1998-2002) once fertile wetlands rapidly deteriorated. We could reasonably presume that transformation of Hamoun into arid country, like their surrounding areas, was mainly caused by irrigated agriculture expansion since the 1970s (represent as bright red patches on satellite images, mainly wheat and barley), coupled with one of the worst droughts ever witnessed in Central Asia in 1999-2001 period.

The wetlands have been replaced mostly by lifeless salt flats and decaying reed stands. The wildlife, the towns, the fisheries, and the agriculture that once surrounded the Hamoun have all fallen away, giving rise to a wasteland.

Winds that were once cooled by the waters of the wetlands now drifting dust, sand, and salt from the dried lakebeds onto the surrounding villages, and these sand drifts have submerged nearly 100 villages beneath dunes in a landscape reminiscent of the Aral Sea disaster. Most of the crops have been reduced to dustbowl conditions, livestock herds have been decimated, and thriving fishery with an annual catch of around 12,000 tons has been wiped out. Many who had lived around the Hamoun for generations either moved away or lost everything.
Local bird population disappeared and migratory birds no longer stop for lack of refuge, and wildlife that could not sustain themselves in the desert or make the long journey to another oasis died. The rest of the wetlands now give off the harsh glare of dried salt flats. The only relatively large bodies of standing water are Chāh-Nīmeh IV reservoir maintained for drinking water.

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Why Iran is facing reduced rainfall?

01/16/18

http://www.payvand.com/news/18/jan/1080.html

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Estimation of environmental water requirements via an ecological approach: A case study of Bakhtegan Lake, Iran

March 2017

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925857416307376

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Evaluation of potentially toxic metals pollution in the sediments of the Kor river, southwest Iran

April 2013

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22825793/

Abstract

This study is carried out to evaluate potentially toxic metal concentrations (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, and Zn) together with their spatial distribution, degree of pollution, and potential ecological risk in Kor river sediments (southwest Iran) using sediment quality guidelines, geoaccumulation index (I geo), Hakanson potential ecological risk index (RI), and standard methods of statistical analysis. The study area stretches some 140 km from the Drodzan Dam to Bakhtegan Lake, a stretch of river where different industrial and domestic activities (e.g., petrochemical complex, oil refinery, industrial meat processing complex, Marvdasht city sewage) and ecological value overlap with each other. Calculated geoaccumulation index indicate that 50 % of the stations are moderately to very extremely polluted. The potential ecological risk for nine investigated metals in Kor river is Hg (948) > Mo (51.9) > Ni (37.8) > Cd (29.8) > As (22) > Cu (16.6) > Pb (13.3) > Zn (3.3) > Cr (1). Results show that sediments in parts of Kor river sediments are heavily affected by effluents discharged from industrial plants and other parts are affected by agriculture and urban runoff from nearby lands. These phenomena may cause a risk of secondary water pollution under sediment disturbance and/or changes in the physical-chemical characteristics of the aquatic system.

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Investigation of heavy metals in the ballast water of ship tanks after and before the implementation of the ballast water convention: Bushehr Port, Persian Gulf

August 2020

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X20304963

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Assessment of Toxic Metals Concentration using Pearl Oyster, Pinctada radiate, as Bioindicator on the Coast of Persian Gulf, Iran

2014

http://ijt.arakmu.ac.ir/article-1-278-en.pdf

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Contamination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Surface Sediments of Khure-Musa Estuarine, Persian Gulf

2012

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Contamination-of-Polycyclic-Aromatic-Hydrocarbons-Mirza-Faghiri/3fc64e2a05a0154310ee8f6b09ec906ea40908e9

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Has Iran mismanaged its way into a water crisis?

March 22, 2017

The 415-year-old Si-o-seh Pol (The Bridge of 33 Arches) in Isfahan, Iran now stands over the dead Zaiandehroud River due to desertification.

Khuzestan Province, in south-east Iran, is known for its enormous oil and gas reserves, which play a vital role in country’s oil industry. The oil-rich province is commonly referred to as the region that makes the money that the entire country needs. In recent years, Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan has earned a new title as one of the world’s most polluted cities. In fact, Ahvaz has the highest particle pollution levels in Iran.

On 7 February, a strong sandstorm hit Ahvaz, shutting down schools and government offices. The storm, which lasted for a week, caused power cuts in the province and temporarily reduced Iran’s average oil production of 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to 3.1 million.

Iranian authorities have placed the blame on neighbouring countries, saying that Iraq and Saudi Arabia caused the sandstorm by failing to tackle desertification in their respective territories.

In an interview with domestic media, Iran’s vice-president and environment minister, Masoumeh Ebtekar, downplayed Iran’s role in the current environmental crisis in Khuzestan by claiming: “Environmental issues in Iraq and Saudi Arabia account for 65 percent of the sandstorms in Iran.”

However, environmental experts and water resource managers have a different viewpoint.

“Lagoons and rivers have dried up due to Iran’s dam policy,” she added.

“Several wetlands across the country have been turned into wastelands. The Hoor Al-Azim wetland was once a water resource in Khuzestan, but it is now depleted and has become a sand resource for the sandstorms hitting the province.”

The water crisis is not unknown to the Iranian authorities. In December 2016, Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian declared that the country’s water resources had reached critical levels. According to a report by the United Nations Development Program, by 2025, the level of Iran’s per capita water resources will fall to about one-third of its level in 1990.

In response, the government has mainly focused on plans to keep the water flowing in the pipelines of the capital Tehran and big cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad and Tabriz. However, water shortages and water rationing is common in smaller cities in central Iran and on the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

https://www.equaltimes.org/has-iran-mismanaged-its-way-into-a?lang=en#.X2Hc5ot7lPZ

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Photos: The Grim Face of Zayandeh Rud

09/25/11

Photos by Mohsen Tizhoosh, Mehr News Agency

Zayandeh Rud river in Isfahan, central Iran, which passes under the historical sio-seh-pol bridge is one of the icons of the city and a tourist attraction. However, in recent years the river has been drying during the summer months creating a grim picture.

http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1252.html

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Drying Bakhtegan Lake a hazard to flamingos

07/29/13

http://www.payvand.com/news/13/jul/1229.html

Sources: Radio Zamaneh & Iran Environment Watch

Many flamingos have fallen victim to the drying up of Bakhtegan Lake in Fars Province, Iran Environment Watch reports.

The IEW website adds that environment and wildlife experts spent three days working with local residents to rescue 400 flamingos and their chicks, which had sunk into the residual salt surface of the lakebed, and transfer them to Maharloo and Tashk lakes; however, they were not able to save every one.

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Mercury Pollution in Three Species of Waders from Shadegan Wetlands at the Head of the Persian Gulf

March 2010

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41124360_Mercury_Pollution_in_Three_Species_of_Waders_from_Shadegan_Wetlands_at_the_Head_of_the_Persian_Gulf

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Iran races against time to revive vanishing wetlands

02.02.2022

Many of nearly 141 wetlands in country struggling to survive amid water crisis

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iran-races-against-time-to-revive-vanishing-wetlands/2491500

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Iran: Drying wetlands in 40 regions contributing to air pollution

12/30/13

The head of biodiversity for the Department of the Environment reports that 40 wetland areas in Iran have partially or completely dried out. IRNA reports that in 40 regions, the wetlands have dried out anywhere from 20 to 100 percent, and the main cause is the lack of effective management of water resources.

Agricultural development without adequate preliminary study is identified as the main culprit in the drying out of wetlands and swamps.

The desiccation of these wetlands has reportedly turned these regions into a source of dust particles causing serious air pollution.

http://www.payvand.com/news/13/dec/1173.html

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Ascribing soil erosion of hillslope components to river sediment yield

2016

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27742155/

Abstract

In recent decades, soil erosion has increased in catchments of Iran. It is, therefore, necessary to understand soil erosion processes and sources in order to mitigate this problem. Geomorphic landforms play an important role in influencing water erosion. Therefore, ascribing hillslope components soil erosion to river sediment yield could be useful for soil and sediment management in order to decrease the off-site effects related to downstream sedimentation areas. The main objectives of this study were to apply radionuclide tracers and soil organic carbon to determine relative contributions of hillslope component sediment sources in two land use types (forest and crop field) by using a Bayesian-mixing model, as well as to estimate the uncertainty in sediment fingerprinting in a mountainous catchment of western Iran. In this analysis, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁴⁰K, ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and soil organic carbon tracers were measured in 32 different sampling sites from four hillslope component sediment sources (summit, shoulder, backslope, and toeslope) in forested and crop fields along with six bed sediment samples at the downstream reach of the catchment. To quantify the sediment source proportions, the Bayesian mixing model was based on (1) primary sediment sources and (2) combined primary and secondary sediment sources. The results of both approaches indicated that erosion from crop field shoulder dominated the sources of river sediments. The estimated contribution of crop field shoulder for all river samples was 63.7% (32.4-79.8%) for primary sediment sources approach, and 67% (15.3%-81.7%) for the combined primary and secondary sources approach. The Bayesian mixing model, based on an optimum set of tracers, estimated that the highest contribution of soil erosion in crop field land use and shoulder-component landforms constituted the most important land-use factor. This technique could, therefore, be a useful tool for soil and sediment control management strategies.

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5 reasons for the deterioration of agricultural soils in Abu Dhabi

12/25/2019

https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2019-12-25---5-reasons-for-the-deterioration-of-agricultural-soils-in-abu-dhabi-.SJW4Ma8Z18.html

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Iran Loses 2 Billion Tons of Soil Every Year

August 7, 2020

https://www.iranfocus.com/en/life-in-iran/34690-iran-loses-2-billion-tons-of-soil-every-year/

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Middle East worst hit by rise in sand and dust storms

June 17, 2016

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36553594

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Iran Hit Hard By Floods In The North, Dust Storms In The South

October 09, 2018

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-floods-north-dust-storms-south-climate-change/29533578.html

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Rise in sandstorms threatens Middle East and North Africa

August 28, 2017

https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/rise-sandstorms-threatens-middle-east-and-north-africa

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Sand and dust storms pose global threat

September 12th, 2019

https://climatenewsnetwork.net/sand-and-dust-storms-pose-global-threat/

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Global Assessment of Sand and Dust Storms

2016

https://uneplive.unep.org/redesign/media/docs/assessments/global_assessment_of_sand_and_dust_storms.pdf

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Middle East worst hit by rise in sand and dust storms

June 17, 2016

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36553594

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'Apocalyptic' Dust Storm That Killed Four People Could Hit Europe This Month

06 June 2022

https://www.unilad.com/news/apocalyptic-dust-storm-killed-four-europe-20220606

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Dust Storms Blanket Khuzestan, Western Iran

November 01, 2017

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-dust-storms-severe-pollution/28828831.html

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Dust Storms and Drought in Iran’s Khuzestan Made Worse by Decades of Populist Planning

May 6, 2022

https://english.shabtabnews.com/2022/05/06/dust-storms-and-drought-in-irans-khuzestan-made-worse-by-decades-of-populist-planning/

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Dust Storms Cloud Iran’s Future

April 7, 2014

Iran is, literally, being blown away. Stifling dust storms frequently now envelope both big cities and rural towns across much of Iran, the world’s 17th largest country. They threaten to disrupt crucial parts of public and economic life, education, commerce, public health, agriculture, trade and transportation. Swirling clouds – of windblown silt, soil, and sediment—already affected 23 of Iran’s 31 provinces in 2013, according to Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the country’s Environmental Protection Organization.

Iran’s massive dust storms could also spill well across Iran’s borders, generating serious regional consequences and tensions. Dust clouds veiled Tehran for 117 days of the Iranian year which ran from March 2012-March 2013. And blinding sand storms blocked roads across the eastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan last summer, isolating nearly 60 towns and villages.

     Dust storms regularly arise in arid and semi-arid regions around the world. Indeed, the Islamic Republic sits in the center of a Northern Hemisphere “dust belt” stretching from the west coast of North Africa, through the Middle East, and across South and Central Asia to China. Winds gusting over the open, level landscape of Iran’s dry plateaus, deserts, and salt flats readily pick up loose soil and sand, lifting bits of dirt and grit into the atmosphere and carrying it tens, hundreds, or even thousands of miles away.

           Nationwide, erosion annually strips thousands of tons of surface soil and sediment from every square mile of the country. The resulting dust storms can close roadways, rail lines, and airports; choke crops; clog machinery; and cloak cities in debilitating air pollution, endangering public health...

Far more troublingly, Iran’s dust storms also impose serious public health risks. If inhaled, fine dust particles can penetrate deep into the lungs. They can cause infections, respiratory difficulties, and cardiovascular problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has formulated specific guidelines about exposure to concentrations of airborne dust, soot, or other tiny pollutants, called “particulate matter,” that can threaten human health.

Studies of several Iranian cities have found particulate pollution routinely shooting far above these guidelines during dust storms. In the southwest city of Ahvaz, dust storms during the summer of 2010 increased daily pollution levels to between 13 and 16 times the WHO standards, causing an estimated 1,131 deaths and more than 8,100 hospital visits. An analysis of hospitals in Kermanshah province in western Iran calculated that every 10 percent rise in dust concentrations swelled the number of cardiac patients by 10 percent, respiratory patients by 5 percent, and deaths from heart disease by 3 percent...

   In the past two decades, Lake Urmia, once the largest in the Middle East, has lost 60 percent of its surface area, shrinking from around 2,300 square miles in the 1990s to about 890 square miles today. As a result, winds that used to ripple the lake’s shallow saltwaters now blow over dry land, carrying off clouds of salt-loaded silt from the desiccated lakebed. These so-called “white” or “saline” dust storms are particularly damaging to surrounding agricultural areas because the windblown salt coats crops, harming their growth, and contaminates soils, decreasing their productivity.

            Similar strains weigh on the marshes and salt lakes – called Hamouns – of the Sistan Basin on the eastern border with Afghanistan. Water levels in the shallow Hamoun system, nourished by the Helmand and other smaller rivers coming in from Afghanistan, fluctuate naturally, depending on regional precipitation and snowmelt in the basin. But here too, water withdrawals for irrigation and the development of Iran’s Chah Nimeh reservoir, together with prolonged drought, have cut water flows into the Hamouns. Water levels in the lakes have plunged, uncovering growing patches of dry lakebed. As a result, satellite observations and data on the ground show that dust storms in the area are increasing as the Hamouns dry up...

https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2014/apr/07/dust-storms-cloud-iran%E2%80%99s-future

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Iranian media: Sandstorm in Iran sends 95 people to hospital

August 21, 2018

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/iranian-media-sandstorm-in-iran-sends-95-people-to-hospital/

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency says 95 people were taken to hospitals after suffering breathing problems during a sand-and-dust storm in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.

Tuesday’s report quotes Abdolrahman Shahnavazi, the provincial director general of disaster management, as saying that 68 people were treated and released overnight while 27 remain hospitalized.

Mehr says the sandstorm hit the province on Monday, with wind speeds of up to 115 kilometers per hour, or about 71 miles per hour. It says that particulate matter concentration — the concentration of small solid and liquid particles potentially harmful — is 30 times above standard acceptable levels.

Iran, like many neighboring countries, suffers from sandstorms that occasionally affect many parts of the country, including central parts and the capital, Tehran.

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Preparedness challenges of the Iranian health system for dust and sand storms: A qualitative study

2019

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6615123/

----------------------------

Dust storms - a modern plague on Iran

June 4, 2014

Monday's severe weather in Tehran is becoming a more frequent occurrence across much of the country.

https://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2014/06/dust-storms-modern-plague-iran-20146475257821125.html

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Regional modeling of wind erosion in the North West and South West of Iran

August 13, 2016

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S1064229316080081

Abstract

About two-thirds of the Iran’s area is located in the arid and semiarid region. Lack of soil moisture and vegetation is poor in most areas can lead to soil erosion caused by wind. So that the annual suffered severe damage to large areas of rich soils. Modeling studies of wind erosion in Iran is very low and incomplete. Therefore, this study aimed to wind erosion modeling, taking into three factors: wind speed, vegetation and soil types have been done. Wind erosion sensitivity was modeled using the key factors of soil sensitivity, vegetation cover and wind erodibility as proxies. These factors were first estimated separately by factor sensitivity maps and later combined by fuzzy logic into a regional-scale wind erosion sensitivity map. Large areas were evaluated by using publicly available datasets of remotely sensed vegetation information, soil maps and meteorological data on wind speed. The resulting estimates were verified by field studies and examining the economic losses from wind erosion as compensated by the state insurance company. The spatial resolution of the resulting sensitivity map is suitable for regional applications, as identifying sensitive areas is the foundation for diverse land development control measures and implementing management activities.

----------------------------

Effects of Wind Erosion and Soil Salinization on Dust Storm Emission in Western Iran

2015

http://www.rangeland.ir/article_512666.html

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Soil mechanical properties and wind erosion following conversion of desert to irrigated croplands in central Iran

October 2020

Abstract

Conversion of the virgin desert to agricultural lands can obviously alter some soil properties; however, little is known about how this conversion impacts soil mechanical properties and wind erosion. The present study therefore aimed at assessing the impacts of agricultural exploitation on aggregate stability, mechanical properties and wind erosion of desert soils in Abarkooh plain, central Iran. To do so, three land uses were assessed: (1) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), (2) pistachio (Pistacia vera L.), and (3) the adjacent virgin desert soils. Ten sites including three land uses were selected. At the time of soil sampling, the vane shear test was performed. Then, the composite soil samples (0–20 cm depth) were taken for laboratory analyses. Soil organic carbon, bulk density, mean weight diameter, wind erosion rate, wind erodible fraction, shear strength value, cohesion (c), and angle of internal friction (φ) were measured. The results showed that soil organic carbon content in the croplands was greater than that of desert. Nevertheless, according to findings, soil gravel, electrical conductivity, and bulk density decreased with cultivation. Compared to the desert (0.21 mm), wheat (1.71 mm) and pistachio (1.34 mm) fields had a higher dry mean weight diameter of soil. The wind erosion rate in the desert (1.48 g m⁻² s⁻¹) was 16.4 and 13.5 times greater than those of wheat and pistachio fields, respectively. Also, the wind erodible fraction in the desert was significantly higher (85%) compared to the cultivated soils (52–58%). The value of φ was greater in wheat‒cropped soil (41.05°) than in the desert (36.90°). The c values (21.39–22.46 kPa), vane shear strength (14.36–14.78 kPa) and shear strength values (22.14–23.49 kPa) in the croplands were 5.2–5.4, 5.0–5.1, and 4.9–5.2 times greater than those of desert, respectively. These results revealed that sustainable use of irrigated desert lands could be an appropriate method which significantly improves soil mechanical resistance against wind erosion.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342990513_Soil_mechanical_properties_and_wind_erosion_following_conversion_of_desert_to_irrigated_croplands_in_central_Iran

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Wind erosion measurement on fallow lands of Yazd-Ardakan plain, Iran

2008

https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_36300_e9749d709dea51e95060703148727006.pdf

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Impacts of wind erosion and seasonal changes on soil carbon dioxide emission in southwestern Iran

September 18, 2020

Abstract

Wind erosion is one of the main drivers of soil loss in the world, which affects 20 million hectare land of Iran. Besides the soil loss, wind erosion contributes to carbon dioxide emission from the soil into the atmosphere. The objective of this study is to evaluate monthly and seasonal changes in carbon dioxide emission in four classes i.e., low, moderate, severe and very severe soil erosion and the interactions between air temperature and wind erosion in relation to carbon dioxide emission in the Bordekhun region, Boushehr Province, southwestern Iran. Wind erosion intensities were evaluated using IRIFR (Iran Research Institute of Forests and Ranges) model, in which four classes of soil erosion were identified. Afterward, we measured carbon dioxide emission on a monthly basis and for a period of one year using alkali traps in each class of soil erosion. Data on emission levels and erosion classes were analyzed as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with twelve replications in each treatment. The highest rate of emission occurred in July (4.490 g CO₂/(m²·d)) in severely eroded lands and the least in January (0.086 g CO₂/(m²·d)) in low eroded lands. Therefore, it is resulted that increasing erosion intensity causes an increase in soil carbon dioxide emission rate at severe erosion intensity. Moreover, the maximum amount of carbon dioxide emission happened in summer and the minimum in winter. Soil carbon dioxide emission was just related to air temperature without any relationship with soil moisture content; since changes of soil moisture in the wet and dry seasons were not high enough to affect soil microorganisms and respiration in dry areas. In general, there are complex and multiple relationships between various factors associated with soil erosion and carbon dioxide emission. Global warming causes events that lead to more erosion, which in turn increases greenhouse gas emission, and rising greenhouse gases will cause more global warming. The result of this study demonstrated the synergistic effect of wind erosion and global climate warming towards carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40333-020-0018-5

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Climate change rises wind erosion by 30% in Iran: official

February 2, 2019

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/432578/Climate-change-rises-wind-erosion-by-30-in-Iran-official

Wind erosion is a serious environmental problem attracting the attention of many across the globe. It is a common phenomenon occurring mostly in flat, bare areas; dry, sandy soils; or anywhere the soil is loose, dry, and finely granulated.

According to the U.S. National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory wind erosion damages land and natural vegetation by removing soil from one place and depositing it in another. It causes soil loss, dryness and deterioration of soil structure, nutrient and productivity losses and air pollution. Suspended dust and dirt is inevitably deposited over everything. It blows on and inside homes, covers roads and highways, and smothers crops. Sediment transport and deposition are significant factors in the geological changes which occur on the land around us and over long periods of time are important in the soil formation process.

Based on the figures 21 million hectares of the country’s land area is affected by wind erosion of which 7 million hectares were severely hit by the phenomenon which is believed to increase, Farhad Sardari said, adding that, wind erosion would lead to hefty environmental and economic loss.

Wind erosion studies are conducted every five years and the data are being updated since last year, IRNA news agency quoted Sardari as saying on Friday.

Climate changes, lower precipitation rates, drought spells, lower vegetation cover, urban development and agricultural practices can speed desertification, he regretted.

According to the French Scientific Committee on Desertification wind erosion is one of the most traumatic aspects of the desertification process. It leads to severe degradation of the environment, impoverishing soil as vast quantities of particles are carried away by the wind.

Wind erosion is the chief physical factor in the exhaustion of agricultural land. The sand encroachment it produces is also a major cause of concern to urban areas and oases in arid ecosystems, reducing human populations to poverty and migration as they are driven to abandon their sterile land and move either to new territories or into towns.

Sardari also said that in order to fight against desertification [and hence wind erosion] controlling overgrazing, identifying sites prone to desertification and wind erosion, and managing desert parks are set on agenda.

Reforestation plans, mulching, and setting up wind barriers [to control wind erosion by reducing the travel distance of wind across a field] are of the plans to control wind erosion and desertification, he added.

According to the figures Iran’s natural resources are stretching over 134 million hectares constituting 82 percent of the country’s total land area. Of the total number 14 million hectares are forests, 32 million hectares are deserts and 82 million hectares are pastures and plains.

Preventive actions against desertification

Green Facts explains that integrating land and water management to protect soils from erosion, salinization, and other forms of degradation, protecting the vegetative cover, which can be a major instrument for soil conservation against wind and water erosion, and integrating the use of land for grazing and farming where conditions are favorable, allowing for a more efficient cycling of nutrients within the agricultural systems are some of the measures helping in fight against desertification.

Furthermore, giving local communities the capacity to prevent desertification and to manage dry land resources effectively, turning to alternative livelihoods that do not depend on traditional land uses, such as dry land aquaculture, greenhouse agriculture and tourism-related activities, which are less demanding on local land and natural resources, and yet provides sustainable income, and creating economic opportunities in dry land urban centers and in areas outside of dry lands can also play a major role in reducing desertification.

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Impact of Middle Eastern dust sources on PM10 in Iran: Highlighting the impact of Tigris‐Euphrates basin sources and Lake Urmia desiccation

November 11, 2016

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016JD025119

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Health risk assessment of exposure to the Middle-Eastern Dust storms in the Iranian megacity of Kermanshah.

2017

https://europepmc.org/article/med/28475960

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Accuracy Assessment of Soil Salinity Map in Yazd-Ardakan Plain, Central Iran, Based on Landsat ETM+ Imagery

2008

https://www.academia.edu/9654902/Accuracy_Assessment_of_Soil_Salinity_Map_in_Yazd_Ardakan_Plain_Central_Iran_Based_on_Landsat_ETM_Imagery

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Hydrogeochemical controls on arsenic mobility in an arid inland basin, Southeast of Iran: The role of alkaline conditions and salt water intrusion

2019 Mar 30

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30965543/

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Using Cesium-137 to estimate soil particle redistribution by wind in an arid region of central Iran

2016

https://search.proquest.com/openview/800ae84bb7e4ca2786ab36aea04c9f2f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2040500

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The effect of intensity and duration of drought on wind situation and wind erosion (Case study: Damghan city, Iran)

January 2016

https://innspub.net/jbes/the-effect-of-intensity-and-duration-of-drought-on-wind-situation-and-wind-erosion-case-study-damghan-city-iran/

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The role of dust due to soil erosion in causing allergies in population groups in Iran

https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-role-of-dust-due-to-soil-erosion-in-causing-allergies-in-population-groups-in-iran.pdf

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Iran's Centuries-Old Windmills May Soon Stop Turning

2017

An ancient cultural site is in danger of falling into disrepair

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/01/nashtifan-iran-windmills/

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Investigation of the Wind Erosion Trend in Central Iran using Dust Storm Index in the Last Fifty Years

2018

https://jstnar.iut.ac.ir/article-1-3326-en.html

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‘Soil erosion in Iran 2.5 times the world average’

November 11, 2017

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/418381/Soil-erosion-in-Iran-2-5-times-the-world-average

Iran has a mean soil loss rate of 16 tons per hectare per year, while the worldwide average is about 6 tons per hectare per year, deputy agriculture minister has said.

“It means that soil erosion in Iran is about 2.5 times more than worldwide average,” Ali-Morad Akbari said in an interview with Mehr news agency published on Friday.

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Land erosion in Iran 4 times global rate

March 10, 2017

https://en.trend.az/iran/society/2730434.html

Land erosion in Iran is four times the global average due to warming, climate change and tapering rainfall, Head of the Forest, Rangeland and Natural Resources Organization Khodakaram Jalali said.

The erosion rate is 16.5 tons in hectare which makes over 2 billion tons countrywide, he told IRIB TV March 10.

Twenty million hectares of the land in natural resources is eroded by wind, Jalali said, adding 7.5 million hectares of the country’s natural resources are situated in the desert and contribute to dust storms.

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Tracking shoreline erosion of “at risk” coastal archaeology: the example of ancient Siraf (Iran, Persian Gulf)

2019

https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02081222/document

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Analysing the land-use change effects on soil erosion and sediment in the North of Iran; a case study: Talar watershed

May 27, 2019

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10106049.2019.1624985

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SOIL EROSION IN IRAN: STATE OF THE ART, TENDENCY AND SOLUTIONS

September 2017

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320184687_SOIL_EROSION_IN_IRAN_STATE_OF_THE_ART_TENDENCY_AND_SOLUTIONS

------------------------

ESTIMATION OF ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF SOIL EROSION IN IRAN

2005

https://www.sid.ir/en/journal/ViewPaper.aspx?id=89331

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Optimizing Management of Soil Erosion in Orazan Sub-basin, Iran

2011

https://jast.modares.ac.ir/article-23-6309-en.pdf

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Soil Erosion Reduction by Implementing a Carbon Sequestration Project in East of Iran

2020

http://www.rangeland.ir/article_671558.html

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Soil erosion and sediment mapping in Aidoghmoush watershed appling MPSIAC model and GIS and RS technologies

2017

http://ijerr.gau.ac.ir/article_3703.html

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SOIL EROSION IN IRAN: STATE OF THE ART, TENDENCY AND SOLUTIONS.

2017

https://web.a.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=05545579&AN=126509827&h=MKF5nU0b9GdK9kpAwYD0PZuYq7uVIuKJs5osaeioDvFHS9R9mduVizDkbLQsvDtKP5MZdoEElAE8Ne%2fu0W7geQ%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d05545579%26AN%3d126509827

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Estimate of Erosion and Sedimentation in Semi-arid Basin using Empirical Models of Erosion Potential within a Geographic Information System

June 3, 2010

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.4137/ASWR.S3427

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Applying RS and GIS for Soil Erosion and Sediment Estimation by MPSIAC Model – A case study of Kenesht watershed in Kermanshah, Iran

09/01/2009

https://www.geospatialworld.net/article/applying-rs-and-gis-for-soil-erosion-and-sediment-estimation-by-mpsiac-model-a-case-study-of-kenesht-watershed-in-kermanshah-iran/

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Sediment Yield and Soil Erosion Assessment by Using an Empirical Model of MPSIAC for Afjeh & Lavarak Sub-Watersheds, Iran

February 2013

http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo.aspx?journalid=161&doi=10.11648/j.earth.20130201.13

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Measuring the Land Use Based Risk of Soil Erosion in a Mining-Dominated landscape in Northern Iran

2020

http://www.jeeng.net/Measuring-the-Land-Use-Based-Risk-of-Soil-Erosion-in-a-Mining-Dominated-landscape,125546,0,2.html

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Tracing sediment sources in a mountainous forest catchment under road construction in northern Iran: comparison of Bayesian and frequentist approaches

2018

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30182314/

----------------------------

Iran scrambles to save Lake Orumiyeh

Mar 21, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XCfo4x1tc8

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Assessment of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Water, Sediments and Fish from Lake Tashk, Iran

31/08/16

https://www.scipedia.com/public/Kafilzadeh_2015a

Abstract

In this study, the levels of organochlorine (OC) pesticide residues in Lake Tashk have been investigated using water, sediment and fish (carp) samples as a case study to find out the extent of pesticide contamination and accumulation in the lake. Six OC pesticides namely DDT, DDE, lindane, endosulfan, heptachlor and chlordane were analyzed in four sites at four seasons. Water samples were processed using a liquid–liquid extraction technique and gas chromatograph equipped with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Soxhlet extraction was used for fish and sediment samples followed by clean up and gas chromatograph. DDE was the predominant residue in all the samples analyzed, at the mean concentrations of 0.075 ppb, 8.750 ppb and 4.446 ppb in water, sediment and fish samples, respectively. The lowest levels of OC pesticides were related to heptachlor and chlordane which none of them were found in water samples. Gonban and Midstream sites had the highest and the lowest concentrations of OC pesticides, respectively.

------------------------------

Iran's Salty Lakes Wax and Wan

February 03, 2011

Lakes Bakhtegan and Tashk (together known as the Neyriz Lakes) in the Fars Province in southern Iran are featured in this image acquired by ALOS Japan's four-tonne Earth observation satellite.

Lake Bakhtegan (center) and Lake Tashk (top), situated in the Neyriz Basin, are salty lakes in the southeastern Zagros Mountains with fluctuating water levels according to rain and snowfall in the mountains.

Lake Bakhtegan, Iran's second largest lake, is fed mostly by the Kur River, while Lake Tashk is fed by overflow from the marshes at its west end and by a large permanent spring in the northwest.

Although normally separated by narrow strips of land, during years of heavy rainfall they may join to form a single lake. Likewise, after years of low rainfall, such as in 1934 and 1971, the lakes may dry out completely except in the area near the springs, according to a European Space Agency statement.

https://www.livescience.com/30086-neyriz-lakes-iran.html

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List of islands of Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Iran

------------------------------

Iran warns of artificial islands’ environmental impact on Persian Gulf

January 19, 2010

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/212471/Iran-warns-of-artificial-islands-environmental-impact-on-Persian

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9 Top Lakes of Iran

https://www.irandestination.com/9-top-lakes-of-iran/

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Iran to Construct Middle East’s Largest Artificial Lake in Tehran

November 8, 2010

https://www.greenprophet.com/2010/11/tehran-iran-lake-artificial/

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Persian Gulf’s underwater museum: an environmental threat?

January 13, 2020

TEHRAN – An underwater museum has been suggested to be designed in the Persian Gulf to prevent coral reef habitats from extinction due to over-fishing and over-visiting, but the question is that do these museums cause threats to the marine environment?

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/444095/Persian-Gulf-s-underwater-museum-an-environmental-threat

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Legal System Governing on Water Pollution in Iran

2017

https://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=78640

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What’s in Iran’s Bottled Water?

2015

https://www.iran-bn.com/2015/11/03/whats-in-irans-bottled-water/2/

Hashemi said Damavand’s water was contaminated with Pseudomonas bacteria. According to the World Health Organization website, the bacteria does not usually cause symptoms in healthy people; however, its presence in large numbers in bottled water can affect taste, odor and clarity.

A senior official at the Food and Drug Organization who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said, “Unfortunately, our organization has been under a great deal of pressure to announce that Damavand’s mineral water is once again suitable for distribution. Damavand is a colossal company and it’s not possible to guarantee that this bacteria has been eliminated in its bottled water in only two weeks. This is not to mention that the company never truly accepted that its products were contaminated with Pseudomonas. Therefore, how can it have corrected the situation?”...

Consumer rights violations have become a huge concern among ordinary Iranians since last summer, after Iran’s health minister announced that the country’s main milk producers were using palm oil in their products. This oil, and not the natural fat of the milk itself, made up most of the fat found in their dairy products.

The head of the Health Ministry’s Office for Nutrition, Zahra Abdollahi, said palm oil has a saturated fatty acid content of at least 50%. Some authorities say the product is a suspected factor in high cholesterol and fat levels in the blood, and could eventually result in clogged arteries.

Other reports about food quality problems have surfaced recently. On Oct. 4, Alireza Jamshidi, head of Tazirat-e-Hokoumati, an organization within Iran’s judiciary, spoke about fake lemon juice being supplied to the market. “Seventeen factories were reviewed, and not one drop of natural lemon juice was found in any of them. What is interesting is that all of them had the seal of quality,” Jamshidi said. On Oct. 17, the Health Ministry reported that since the beginning of the current Iranian year, which started March 21, violations had been found in 53 lemon juice factories...

In the past few months, there have also been reports about the mass processing of chicken containing lead in Tehran’s slaughterhouses, the unsanitary use of chicken paste in the production of sausages and salami, as well as contaminated sugar cubes.

Yet, it seems that these producers face no major legal repercussions. In an Oct. 13 news conference, the health minister complained about the low fines set for “food fraud,” somewhere between 5 and 20,000 toman ($1.60-$6.60). “These fines are truly sad. And it’s been 30 years since these laws were put in place, and still they have never been reviewed,” Hashemi said...

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Iran is Running Out of Water

August 4, 2020

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/iran-running-out-water-166193

Our work showed that Iran’s main river basins have got warmer but are receiving less precipitation, are storing less water underground, and seeing less runoff.

Salt storms are an emerging threat for millions of people in north-western Iran, thanks to the catastrophe of Lake Urmia. Once one of the world’s largest salt lakes, and still the country’s largest lake, Urmia is now barely a tenth of its former size.

As the waters recede, extensive salt marshes are left exposed to the wind. These storms are getting saltier and are now happening more often – even in the cold and rainy seasons of the year. As more drying uncovers more salt marshes, things will only get worse.

Salt storms pose a direct threat to the respiratory health and eyesight of at least 4 million people living in both rural and urban areas around Lake Urmia. Increasing soil salinity reduces the yield of agricultural and orchard crops grown around the lake, while the lake has shrunk so much that boating is no longer possible, resulting in a loss of tourism.

This dramatic decline is down to human activity. Over the past three decades, Iran has followed a succession of five-year economic development plans, part of which involved providing large government loans for the agricultural sector to expand and switch from being primarily rain-fed to irrigated. To provide the necessary water for the farms, as well as for growing domestic and industrial use, more than 50 dams were constructed on rivers that drain much of north-western Iran and flow into the lake.

While these dams siphoned off the water that once fed the lake, the drying process was intensified by climate change. The rate of rainfall has reduced in recent decades and the Urmia basin has experienced several multi-year droughts.

All this has left a massively shrunken lake and a host of associated economic, social and health impacts. Yet what’s happening with Lake Urmia is just one example of water-environmental problems emerging right across Iran.

Iran is Getting Warmer and Drier

In a recent journal article, we examined how both climate change and human activity had affected hydrological changes in Iran in recent decades. The country has 30 main river basins, and we gathered three decades of key hydro-climatic data for each, including surface temperature, precipitation, how much water was stored underground in soil and rock, surface runoff (the amount of excess rainwater that cannot be absorbed by the soil), and measures of evaporation and transpiration from plants.

We then calculated the average values of each of these variables over two 15-year periods, 1986-2001 and 2002-2016, and compared the two. This allowed us to see what was changing in each of these basins and by how much.

Our work showed that Iran’s main river basins have got warmer but are receiving less precipitation, are storing less water underground, and seeing less runoff.

Some river basins where precipitation and runoff decreased still saw an increase in evapotranspiration (the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration). This may seem odd at first, as less rainwater surely means there is less water to evaporate or for plants to transpire. Lake Urmia, for instance, is an endorheic basin, which means nothing flows out of it and all water that flows in eventually evaporates (this is why the lake is salty). But why would evapotranspiration have actually increased, even as the basin is fed by less water?

This is actually an indicator of human activity. First, all those dams generally increase the surface area of the body of water, compared to the natural flow before the dam was built. Artificial lakes and reservoirs, therefore, leave more water exposed to air and direct sunlight, thus increasing evaporation.

But it’s also down to farming. As more crops are grown, more water is transpired by plants – and more water is needed to grow those plants. To add water where needed, farmers have turned to groundwater and large-scale water transfer engineering projects.

This use of water to maintain and expand human activities is unsustainable and has serious environmental and socio-economic consequences, particularly in this dry part of the world, as seen by changes to Lake Urmia. Policymakers need to mitigate the adverse hydrological changes and associated socio-economic, environmental and health impacts, and move towards something more sustainable.

----------------------------

Years of drought turning Iran into desert

August 6, 2001

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/years-of-drought-turning-iran-into-desert/article1032674/

----------------------------

A grand but faulty vision for Iran's water problems

May 9, 2016

Massive water transfer schemes are no solution to Iran’s growing problems with drought

A grand vision of eliminating water scarcity looks attractive for tens of millions of people in the desert cities of central Iran worried about drought. Ambitious water transfer projects are being put in place to answer a call from President Hassan Rouhani.

Two high-profile projects would see desalinised water transferred to the central plateau from the Caspian Sea, and from the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.

Mohammadreza Khabbaz, governor of Semnan, a province sandwiched between the lush Caspian Sea coastline and the central salt desert, is a staunch supporter of the Caspian Sea water transfer project as a “permanent” solution.

Last month he said there was “no other option…to meet water demand in, and transfer water to, Iran’s central desert, including Semnan province”.

The Caspian Sea project was initiated in 2012 during the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was shelved when Rouhani took office in 2013 due to concerns raised by the department of environment but is now back on the table and at planning stage.

A 460km (285 miles) underground pipeline would be installed, with pump stations to send water up over 2000 meters to cross the Alborz Mountains. The water would go as far as Qom, Kashan, and Isfahan, and eastward toward Khorasan. This, say proponents, would avoid water rationing in the cities and ease acute shortages threatening to cripple fragile agricultural communities and ruin ecosystems.

Transferring water from the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman is even more ambitious in aiming to secure drinking water for 47 million people in 16 provinces. In March 2016, Rouhani announced a budget of $400m to launch the initiative.

Hamidreza Janbaz, managing director of Iran’s National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, a state body, has explained the scheme as several sub-projects that are at different stages. Most are still in planning but some have broken ground, including water transfer from the Sea of Oman to the northern part of Sistan-Baluchistan province.

But as construction begins, a simple question remains. Is pumping desalinised water from hundreds of kilometres away a sustainable way to support dehydrated mega-cities and parched farmlands?

The swirling landscape of Iran’s salt desert, Dasht-e Kavir. These areas are salt lakes and the colours show fluctuations in the amount of water present over time.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/09/iran-desalination-water

----------------------------

Soil salinisation

https://wad.jrc.ec.europa.eu/soilsalinization

----------------------------

Salt glacier

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_glacier

A salt glacier (or namakier) is a rare flow of salt that is created when a rising diapir in a salt dome breaches the surface of the Earth. The name ‘salt glacier’ was given to this phenomenon due to the similarity of movement when compared with ice glaciers. The causes of these formations is primarily due to salt's unique properties and its surrounding geologic environment. A rising body of salt is referred to as a diapir; which rises to the surface and feeds the salt glacier. Salt structures are usually composed of halite, anhydrite, gypsum and clay minerals. Clays may be brought up with the salt, turning it dark. These salt flows are rare on earth. In a more recent discovery, scientists have found that they also occur on Mars, but are composed of sulfates.

The salt glaciers of the Zagros Mountains in Iran are halite whereas the salt glacier of Lüneburg Kalkberg, Germany is composed of gypsum and carbonate minerals.

Ancient flows have been preserved in various rock records by sedimentation. Late Triassic salt glaciers repeatedly flowed onto a basin in Germany and were buried with sediment to create a series of preserved glaciers. Miocene glaciers flowed into sheets in the northern Gulf of Mexico and were similarly preserved by overriding sediment.[6][citation needed]

Salt domes (hills) and salt glaciers (dark areas) in the Zagros Mountains of southern Iran

ISS image of an oval-shaped salt glacier, about 14 km (8 mi) across, in the Zagros Mountains. Note north arrow pointing towards lower right.

Konar Siyah salt dome Salt dome, Hadi Karimi, Iran

----------------------------

Jashak: The Most Beautiful, Typical Salt Dome in Middle East

February, 19, 2017

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Jashak salt dome is a large area on the southern slope of Zagros Mountains, in Iran's southern Bushehr province. It is one of the largest and most beautiful salt domes in Iran and the Middle East.

Jashak Mountain is 1350 m above the surrounding plain. The mountain range is about 12 km long and 4.5 kilometers wide. Dome area is about 3666 hectares. Scientists say that the dome has been formed in the late Precambrian and early Paleozoic era.

Jashak salt dome appeared due to high evaporation salt residue on the soil surface and the underlying salt region. There're nearly 114 salt domes in southern Iran, especially in the provinces of Hormozgan and Bushehr.

Jashak salt dome phenomena are:

White salts of the dome make it look like a beautiful snowy mountains in the eastern plains from far away. Some parts of the dome look like ice glacier.

A beautiful salt waterfall is another tourist attraction of the salt dome. The waterfalls that flow naturally along the dome appear when water vaporizes in hot and dry weather. This phenomenon can be seen in mid-spring to summer and early autumn.

Another feature of the dome is salt caves. The caves are created by the dissolution of salt deposits around the dome. Beautiful stalagmites and stalactites in the form of salt crystals can be seen inside these caves.

Water erosion caused some stunning patterns on the salt dome. It can be called as one of the most beautiful geo-morphological erosion creations.

The non-silicate minerals such as pyrite and fluorine, and many salt crystals with metallic and non-metallic luster color variations can be found in this area. Various colors, include red, brown, white, yellow, black and orange.

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/02/19/1331724/jashak-the-most-beautiful-typical-salt-dome-in-middle-east

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Salt tectonics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_tectonics

Salt tectonics, or halokinesis, or halotectonics, is concerned with the geometries and processes associated with the presence of significant thicknesses of evaporites containing rock salt within a stratigraphic sequence of rocks. This is due both to the low density of salt, which does not increase with burial, and its low strength.

Salt structures (excluding undeformed layers of salt) have been found in more than 120 sedimentary basins across the world.

Passive salt structures

Structures may form during continued sedimentary loading, without any external tectonic influence, due to gravitational instability. Pure halite has a density of 2160 kg/m3. When initially deposited, sediments generally have a lower density of 2000 kg/m³, but with loading and compaction their density increases to 2500 kg/m³, which is greater than that of salt. Once the overlying layers have become denser, the weak salt layer will tend to deform into a characteristic series of ridges and depressions, due to a form of Rayleigh–Taylor instability. Further sedimentation will be concentrated in the depressions and the salt will continue to move away from them into the ridges. At a late stage, diapirs tend to initiate at the junctions between ridges, their growth fed by movement of salt along the ridge system, continuing until the salt supply is exhausted. During the later stages of this process the top of the diapir remains at or near the surface, with further burial being matched by diapir rise, and is sometimes referred to as downbuilding. The Schacht Asse II and Gorleben salt domes in Germany are an example of a purely passive salt structure.

Such structures do not always form when a salt layer is buried beneath a sedimentary overburden. This can be due to a relatively high strength overburden or to the presence of sedimentary layers interbedded within the salt unit that increase both its density and strength.

Active salt structures

Active tectonics will increase the likelihood of salt structures developing. In the case of extensional tectonics, faulting will both reduce the strength of the overburden and thin it. In an area affected by thrust tectonics, buckling of the overburden layer will allow the salt to rise into the cores of anticlines, as seen in salt domes in the Zagros Mountains and in El Gordo diapir (Coahuila fold-and-thrust belt, NE Mexico).

If the pressure within the salt body becomes sufficiently high it may be able to push through its overburden, this is known as forceful diapirism. Many salt diapirs may contain elements of both active and passive salt movement. An active salt structure may pierce its overburden and from then on continue to develop as a purely passive salt diapir.

Reactive salt structures

In those cases where salt layers do not have the conditions necessary to develop passive salt structures, the salt may still move into relatively low pressure areas around developing folds and faults. Such structures are described as reactive.
Salt detached fault systems

When one or more salt layers are present during extensional tectonics, a characteristic set of structures is formed. Extensional faults propagate up from the middle part of the crust until they encounter the salt layer. The weakness of the salt prevents the fault from propagating through. However, continuing displacement on the fault offsets the base of the salt and causes bending of the overburden layer. Eventually the stresses caused by this bending will be sufficient to fault the overburden. The types of structures developed depend on the initial salt thickness. In the case of a very thick salt layer there is no direct spatial relationship between the faulting beneath the salt and that in the overburden, such a system is said to be unlinked. For intermediate salt thicknesses, the overburden faults are spatially related to the deeper faults, but offset from them, normally into the footwall; these are known as soft-linked systems. When the salt layer becomes thin enough, the fault that develops in the overburden is closely aligned with that beneath the salt, and forms a continuous fault surface after only a relatively small displacement, forming a hard-linked fault.

In areas of thrust tectonics salt layers act as preferred detachment planes. In the Zagros fold and thrust belt, variations in the thickness and therefore effectiveness of the late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian Hormuz salt are thought to have had a fundamental control on the overall topography.

Salt weld

When a salt layer becomes too thin to be an effective detachment layer, due to salt movement, dissolution or removal by faulting, the overburden and the underlying sub-salt basement become effectively welded together. This may cause the development of new faults in the cover sequence and is an important consideration when modeling the migration of hydrocarbons. Salt welds may also develop in the vertical direction by putting the sides of a former diapir in contact.

Allochthonous salt structures

Salt that pierces to the surface, either on land or beneath the sea, tends to spread laterally away and such salt is said to be "allochthonous". Salt glaciers are formed on land where this happens in an arid environment, such as in the Zagros Mountains. Offshore tongues of salt are generated that may join together with others from neighbouring piercements to form canopies.

Effects on sedimentary systems

On passive margins where salt is present, such as the Gulf of Mexico, salt tectonics largely control the evolution of deep-water sedimentary systems; for example submarine channels, as modern and ancient case studies show.

Economic importance

A significant proportion of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are found in structures related to salt tectonics, including many in the Middle East, the South Atlantic passive margins (Brazil, Gabon and Angola) and the Gulf of Mexico.

----------------------------

Thick- and thin-skinned deformation rates in the central Zagros simple folded zone (Iran) indicated by displacement of geomorphic surfaces

February 01, 2009

Summary

Although the geology and structure of the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt (Iran) have been studied extensively, the distribution of active deformation across the belt and its seismotectonic behaviour remain controversial. We have mapped deformed fluvial terraces along the Dalaki and Mand rivers in the central Zagros, as well as marine terraces along the Persian Gulf, in order to unravel the spatial pattern of vertical displacements and to analyse active deformation and its implications for seismicity. Using appropriate fold models based on structural data allows interpreting such vertical displacements in terms of horizontal shortening across the fold structures. Obtaining well-constrained rates of deformation depends on reliably dating deformed geomorphic markers; by combining different dating techniques and correlations to sea level history, we propose an internally consistent set of ages, which allow the first geomorphic estimates of shortening rates absorbed by individual structures in the central Zagros. Our results show that shortening on Late Pleistocene timescales is concentrated in the frontal part of the belt, consistent with recent GPS data. Three or four frontal structures appear to absorb practically all of the active shortening across the Zagros, broadly consistent with a normal forward-propagating deformation sequence but with local out-of-sequence activation of structures behind the forward-most folds. The localization, rate and direction of surface shortening across individual structures appear decoupled from basement deformation, as indicated by structural cross-sections and the distribution of seismicity. Such independent behaviour suggests that the sedimentary cover of the frontal Zagros is decoupled from the basement, most probably at the level of the Hormuz Salt. This weak basal detachment level, together with several intermediate décollement levels, appears to be responsible for the overwhelmingly aseismic deformation of the Zagros sedimentary cover, and also to control the development of a large panel of fold structures, from detachment to fault-propagation folds with varying wavelength and rooting depth.

https://academic.oup.com/gji/article/176/2/627/2026924

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Earthquake hits area near Bedrock salinity project

March 5, 2019

https://the-journal.com/articles/129935

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Earthquake caused by salinity facility near Bedrock

Mar. 5, 2019

https://www.kjct8.com/content/news/Earthquake-caused-by-salinity-facility-near-Bedrock-506733901.html

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Brine Removal From River Causes Earthquakes On Utah-Colorado Line

Jul 12, 2019

When her desk started moving at work the morning of March 4, Nara Bopp assumed it was a passing garbage truck

https://patch.com/colorado/across-co/brine-removal-river-causes-earthquakes-utah-colorado-line

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What Caused Iran's Deadly Earthquake?

April 09, 2013

https://www.livescience.com/28573-iran-deadly-earthquake-explained.html

The Zagros Mountains are known for their unusual rock formations, including ancient salt layers that formed in the Precambrian Era, before complex life appeared in Earth's fossil record. As the tectonic plates have slammed into each other, contorting the mountains, the salt layers have pushed to the surface like toothpaste from a tube, forming salt domes and salt glaciers called namakiers.

Crashing continents caused today's (April 9) deadly earthquake in Iran, which killed dozens, according to news reports.

The magnitude-6.3 Iran earthquake hit in the southern Zagros Mountains, a stunning range that marks the boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates, said Bill Barnhart, a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Denver office. The Arabian plate is grinding northward at about 0.4 inches (10 millimeters) a year, pushing the boot-shaped Arabian peninsula into the Eurasian plate, which covers most of Europe and Asia.

Just like the Himalaya Mountains, whose grand height and complex tectonics reflect the impact between the Indian and Eurasian plates, the Zagros Mountains are a mix of different earthquake fault styles, Barnhart told OurAmazingPlanet.

Today’s quake was a thrust fault earthquake, meaning the ground on one side of the fault moved vertically up and over the other side, shortening the distance between the two sides. The epicenter was 55 miles (89 kilometers) southeast of Bushehr, the city where Iran's only nuclear power station is located. The quake originated 6.2 miles (10 km) below the Earth's surface and struck at 4:22 p.m. local time (7:52 a.m. EDT), the USGS reported.

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Earthquakes related to active salt doming near Kulyab, Tadjikistan, USSR

October 1986

In the region near Kulyab, Tadjikistan, hundreds of shallow earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 2½ have been reported in Soviet yearly catalogs since 1964. This area appears as a well‐defined cluster of activity, distant from the line of epicenters that defines the Gissar‐Kokshal seismic zone, to the north of the Pamir ranges. The geology of this region is dominated by the presence of numerous salt domes, surrounded by Neogene and Quaternary continental deposits. The spatial relationship between these earthquakes and the salt domes suggests that the two phenomena may be related. Moderate earthquakes (M > 5) occurred in 1972 and 1973, and intensities of surface shaking greater than MM=6 were reported from earthquakes in 1937, 1952, 1969, 1972, 1973 and 1978. The earthquake on 2 April 1973 and its aftershocks were located in a region where no salt domes have been mapped at the surface. However, a buried salt diapir has been mapped at depth by geophysical means. These earthquakes may result from active salt diapirism at depth. The mechanism for producing this seismicity could be either the active fracturing of the cap rock by the rising diapir, or the concentration of tectonic stresses in the thinned section above and adjacent to the diapir. The salt‐related earthquakes may produce lower frequency radiation than other events of the same size.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/GL013i010p01019

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Oilfield wastewater may trigger earthquakes for 'decades'

July 16, 2019

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-oilfield-wastewater-trigger-earthquakes-decades.html

----------------

Injecting wastewater underground can cause earthquakes up to 10 kilometers away

Sep 2, 2018

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/injecting-wastewater-underground-can-cause-earthquakes-up-to-10-kilometers-away

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List of earthquakes in Iran

Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major faults that cover at least 90% of the country. As a result, earthquakes in Iran occur often and are destructive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_Iran

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INVESTIGATION OF GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES AND SEDIMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF NAPAG MUD VOLCANO, MAKRAN, IRAN

July 2017

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343126415_INVESTIGATION_OF_GEOMORPHOLOGICAL_CHANGES_AND_SEDIMENT_CHARACTERISTICS_OF_NAPAG_MUD_VOLCANO_MAKRAN_IRAN

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Mud Diapirism on the Makran, Iran: Case Study on the Napag Mud Volcano

2015

https://1library.net/document/y6jxgenq-mud-diapirism-makran-iran-case-study-napag-volcano.html

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Earthquakes trigger undersea methane reservoirs: study

July 28, 2013

https://phys.org/news/2013-07-earthquakes-trigger-undersea-methane-reservoirs.html

----------------------------

Isolation and Characterization of Bacterial Species from Ain Mud Volcano, Iran

March 2018

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324442197_Isolation_and_Characterization_of_Bacterial_Species_from_Ain_Mud_Volcano_Iran

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Volcanoes of Iran

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/iran.html

----------------------------

Researchers Investigating Mysterious Flood At Iran Volcano Base

November 26, 2018

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-flash-flood-at-damavand-volcano-base/29621449.html

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Investigation of geomorphological changes and sediment characteristics of Napag mud volcano, Makran, Iran

2017

https://www.gsjournal.ir/article_50279_en.html?lang=en

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Pink Mud Volcano Gomishan, Iran

Sep 29, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z7yTeIECSI

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'The ocean is on fire again': Mud volcano explodes, lighting up the Caspian Sea

July 5, 2021

An eruption south of the Azeri capital sent fire streaming into the night sky on Sunday. A mud volcano has been pinned as the culprit.

https://www.cnet.com/science/the-ocean-is-on-fire-again-mud-volcano-explodes-lighting-up-the-caspian-sea/

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Yazd Water Salinity Increasing

June 19, 2017

https://financialtribune.com/articles/people-environment/66768/yazd-water-salinity-increasing

The salinity of water resources in the arid province of Yazd is increasing due to manmade factors, the managing director of Yazd Regional Water Company said.

Generally, the planet’s rising temperature leads to excessive evaporation in semi-enclosed body of water, which leads to hypersalinity. However, human activities aggravate the problem, ISNA reported.

According to Mohammad Mehdi Javadianzadeh, urban development, excessive pumping of groundwater, rerouting rivers and streams, digging illegal wells, outdated farming methods and installation of desalination plants are among the main causes of water crisis and increased salinity of the precious resource in Yazd.

Desalination processes produce large quantities of brine, which is normally diluted before it is returned back to the water body it was retrieved from. The problem is that brine is denser than seawater and therefore sinks to the ocean bottom and can damage the ecosystem. Careful reintroduction can minimize the impact, but cannot entirely eliminate it.

Based on available data, "average rainfall has decreased from 100 millimeters to 89 millimeters during the past 29 years", Javadianzadeh said.

Yazd Province has been struggling with drought since 1999, with only a two-year respite in between. The long dry spell has wreaked havoc on the provincial villages. Aside from the above-mentioned factors, water-intensive industries in the province have only made a bad situation worse.

The provincial capital Yazd is believed to be the hottest city north of the Persian Gulf and is Iran’s driest metropolis. Prior to the advent of industrialization a few decades ago, residents of the parched province relied heavily on qanats to meet their daily water needs.

The country's nearly two-decade long struggle with drought, combined with high consumption and waste, has led to renewable water resources dropping to under 120 billion cubic meters. However, by some accounts, that figure is closer is 88 bcm.

----------------------------

High salinity of Lake Urmia

2021-07-07

https://www.tehrantimes.com/tag/High+salinity+of+Lake+Urmia

----------------------------

Salinity Management in the Shatt Al-Arab River

December 2018

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330565088_Salinity_Management_in_the_Shatt_Al-Arab_River

Abstract and Figures

Shatt al-Arab River is originated at the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates in al-Qurna town in southern Iraq. Two other tributaries; the Karun and the Karkheh rivers; join the river downstream from the eastern bank. The length of Shatt al-Arab is about 192 km from its origin to its mouth in the Gulf. The width of the Shatt varies between 250 m at Qurna and 750 m at its mouth at Rass al-Bisha. The salinity of Shat al-Arab has increased steadily for the last four decades. High salinity of the shatt waters hindered their use and made them unfit for most domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. Salinity as high as 18500 ppm was recorded in the City of Basra on the year 2009. The prime cause of the salinity problem is the reduction of fresh water inflow from all the contributing rivers; the high salinity of the inflow from the Euphrates; the marshes; and Garmat Ali River. The research paper recommends an environmental (a minimum instream) flow of 145 cms and several engineering works on the lower parts of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers to assure the delivery of the proposed flow.

----------------------------

Concentration and Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements, Lead and Cadmium, in Vegetables and Cereals Consumed in Western Iran

December 19 2019

https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-abstract/83/1/101/425624/Concentration-and-Risk-Assessment-of-Potentially?redirectedFrom=fulltext

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Content of toxic and essential metals in recrystallized and washed table salt in Shiraz, Iran

January 7, 2014

Abstract

Background

Table salt is the most commonly used food additive. Since most of the salt consumed in Iran comes from mines, contamination with heavy metals is a health concern. The commonest salt purification method in Iran is washing with water. But recently, some industries have turned to recrystallization method. The present study aimed to determine the level of essential and non-essential heavy metals in the table salt refined with recrystallization and washing methods.

Methods

Thirty eight pre-packed salt samples were directly collected from retail market in Shiraz (22 samples refined with recrystallization method and 16 with washing method). The level of lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt was determined using Voltammetric method. Daily intakes of lead and cadmium as well as their weekly intakes were calculated.

Results

The levels of lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt in recrystallized samples were 0. 30 ± 0.26, 0.02 ± 0.02, 0.11 ± 0.06, 0.34 ± 0.22, 0.15 ± 0.19 and 0.008 ± 0.007 μg/g, respectively, and also 0.37 ± 0.27, 0.017 ± 0.021, 0.19 ± 0.18, 0.37 ± 0.20, 0.13 ± 0.23 and 0.037 ± 0.06 μg/g in washed salt samples. The calculated weekly intake of lead and cadmium was 0.216 and 0.014 μg/kg, respectively for the recrystallized and 0.2653 and 0.0119 μg/kg for the washed salts.

Conclusion

All values for toxic metals were lower than the permitted maximum for human consumption as prescribed by Codex and Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran. Only 0.8652-1.0612% of lead and 0.17-0.2% of cadmium PTWIs are received via salt consumption weekly.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/2052-336X-12-10

-----------------------

Heavy Metals Contamination of Table Salt Consumed in Iran

2010

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3862059/

-----------------------

Assessment of heavy metal content in refined and unrefined salts obtained from Urmia, Iran

2016

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15569543.2016.1262875

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Heavy metal content in edible salts in Isfahan and estimation of their daily intake via salt consumption

2012

http://www.ijehe.org/article.asp?issn=2277-9183;year=2012;volume=1;issue=1;spage=8;epage=8;aulast=Pourgheysari

-----------------------

HEAVY METALS CONTAMINATION OF TABLE SALT CONSUMED IN IRAN

https://www.sid.ir/en/journal/ViewPaper.aspx?id=172606

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INVESTIGATION OF THE FLUORIDE CONTENT OF EDIBLE SALT AND THE FLUORIDE INTAKE FROM EDIBLE SALT CONSUMPTION IN IRAN

2016

https://www.fluorideresearch.org/494Pt2/files/FJ2016_v49_n4Pt2_p495-502_sfs.pdf

Groundwater is the major source of the fluoride ion (F) in endemic fluorosisareas.1 The F level in groundwater is also positively related2 to total hardness,noncarbonate hardness, and the levels of SO42–, Ca2+, and Mg2+. In addition, foodmaterials contribute considerably to the total F intake.3,4 F is a potentially toxicelement, when taken in excess through water or food.5 The dietary intake of Fthrough the consumption of food, drinking water, beverages, and tea has beenviewed as an important cause of F-related health problems in many parts of theworld.4,6-8 Although the topical use of F has been recommended for the preventionof dental caries, F is not an essential element and is not necessary for thedevelopment of healthy bones and teeth.9,10 The overconsumption of F in infancymay lead to dental fluorosis and other adverse effects including developmentalneurotoxicity.9-12 While dental fluorosis only occurs with a high F intake duringthe early childhood years while the teeth are developing, other adverse effectsincluding skeletal fluorosis may develop at later ages.13-18 For most people inIran, the major source of F exposure is drinking water.19 Most of the reports on theF concentrations in the drinking water and food are on water concentrations withonly a few reports on the concentration of F in foods in various parts of the world.Only a limited number of studies have been done on the F content of edible salt inIran which is counted as one of the F containing foods.20 According to the studiesconducted in Iran, the salt intake in Iranians exceeds the recommended standard ofless than 5 g/day and the F intake from edible salt can be quite significant.21 Thus,the aim of the present study was to estimate the daily F intake in Iran from ediblesalt, by determining the F content in edible salt consumed in Iran...

The World Health Organization (WHO), in its 1996 publication Trace elementsin human nutrition and health classifies fluoride in the group of “potentially toxicelements, some possibly with essential functions.”26 However, in 2011 theScientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER). of theEuropean Commission, found that F was not an essential trace element and wasnot necessary for the formation of healthy bones and teeth.10 The 1996 WHOreport noted that total F intake of adults is usually in the range 0.2 to 2.0 mg F/dayand that higher intakes were not uncommon when the F content of drinking waterwas high.26 The report noted that, so far, there was no evidence from humanstudies the overt clinical signs of F deficiency exist.26 No specifically diagnosticclinical or biochemical parameters have been related to F deficiency.26 The ExpertConsultation was therefore unable to specify a minimum desirable intake.26 Inview of the toxicity associated with excessive F ingestion from a variety ofsources, recommendations were made for maximum safe intakes.26 They statedthat the total intakes at 1, 2, and 3 yr of age should, if possible, be limited to 0.5,1.0, and 1.5 mg F/day, respectively, with not more than 75% in the form of highlysoluble fluorides in drinking water.26 They stated that adult intakes exceeding 5mg of F/day from all sources probably pose a significant risk of skeletalfluorosis.26 However, Hirzy et al. considered that the safe dose for children to bemuch lower and, using the Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level/No ObservedAdverse Effect Level (LOAEL/NOAEL) method, estimated the safe dose forchildren to be about 0.047 mg F/day.27In a study similar to the present study, Haftenberger et al.28 found that the total Fintake from food and beverages in 11 pre-school children was 202.5±116.2 μg F/day. Similarly, Zohouri et al.20 found that the range of F content in salt was 0.162μg F/g salt, with a range of 0.001–0.567 μg F/g salt, and the F content for a mixedspice was 2.408 μg F/g mixed spice. Maupomé and Castaño.29 measured the Fcontent of 221 bags of salt in Mexico City, and this element was found to be belowthe amount recommended by the government. Zohuri et al.3 reported that the totalF intakes through the diet in Iranian children residing in low-F areas, includingShiraz, Darab, Dehkhir, and Hassan-Abad, were 0.318, 0.364, 0.575, and 0.440mg F/day respectively. In another study, Faraji et al.30 measured the F level inhuman breast milk and the F concentration in the drinking water used by mothersliving in the northern part of Iran and showed that the F concentration in water canaffect its concentration in breast milk. Exposure to high doses of F may also leadto dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, increased rates of bone fractures, decreased birth rates, increased rates of urolithiasis (kidney stones),6 and lower intelligencein children.11,31 F ingested during pregnancy can have an effect on the humanfetus by passing through the placenta.32 In areas with high concentrations of F inthe drinking water, in order to reduce the daily F intake, it is recommended that Fis removed from drinking water by an appropriate process.33 For reducing the Fintake through groundwater, the consumption of bottled water with a low Fcontent is recommended.34CONCLUSIONSIn this study all the edible salt samples had detectable levels of F. The F contentin the human body depends on various factors, such as the amount of edible saltconsumption, the F concentration in drinking water, the quantity of drinking waterconsumed, and the F content of other foods. The consumption of salt containing ahigh level of F will increase the F content in the human body. The results of thepresent study showed that the total daily F intake from drinking water and ediblein three Iranian provinces to be 0.96–1.21 mg F/day. As a first step towardsreducing the F intake from various sources, it is suggested that the amount of F inthe drinking water in high drinking water F regions be adjusted according to thediet of the people of the region.

------------------------

Toxicity of Phenol and Salt on the Phenol-Degrading Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacterium

August 31, 2016

https://sites.kowsarpub.com/jjhs/articles/15084.html

-----------------------

Salt Separation Processes in the Saltcedar Tamarix ramosissima (Ledeb.)

2008

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00103621003734281

Abstract

Salt cedars (Tamarix) are invasive halophytic species and heavy water consumers. However, Tamarix possesses interesting characteristics accounting for its opportunistic and resilient abilities: analogous to a miniature photodesalinization machine, it thrives on saline soils toxic to most plants. Here we observe, document, and reveal the salt separation process of T. ramosissima. Specimens were cultivated under controlled artificial conditions, then analyzed by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. Tamarix ramosissima is shown to produce varied morphologies of salt crystal aggregates from vesiculated trichomes and possess the ability to separate anions and cations. Sodium chloride, potassium chloride (KCl), and potassium sodium sulfate [K_2.25Na_1.75(SO₄)₂] were major exuded salt crystal phases, with smaller quantities of other phases present. Compositions of crystals exuded by individual plants were consistent with compositions of the soils they grew on. Although T. ramosissima may be an invasive nuisance, it may possess other worthwhile attributes such as the potential to be a viable phytoremediator and environmental indicator.

-----------------------

It's Raining Salt: Toxic Aral Sea Storm Sparks Health Fears In Central Asia

May 29, 2018

Large parts of western Uzbekistan and northern Turkmenistan are recovering from a severe salt storm that has damaged agriculture and livestock herds.

The three-day storm hit Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan and Khorezm regions, as well as Turkmenistan's Dashoguz Province, beginning on May 26.

The salt -- lifted from dried-out former parts of the Aral Sea -- left a white dust on farmers' fields and fruit trees that is expected to ruin many crops.

The storm also caused flights at the Urgench airport to be canceled, made driving hazardous, and caused breathing difficulties for many people.

Particularly hard hit by the storm, which reached speeds of more than 20 meters per second, were the Uzbek regions of Khorezm, Navoi, and Bukhara.

Remnants of the storm were also reported as far south as Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Temirbek Bobo, 80, told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that it was the first time he had seen such a harsh storm.

"I've seen the wind bring sand before, but this was the first time I saw salt. This event can be called a catastrophe," said Bobo, who lives in the Takhiatash district of Karakalpakstan. "The whole day there was nothing but salt rain [coming down]. The sun was not visible."

He added: "Nature began to take revenge on us for [what we have done] to the Aral Sea."

A representative of the Karakalpakstan's Council of Ministers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the council had not received any instructions regarding the situation, but suggested that the region's Agricultural Ministry may have.

RFE/RL's Uzbek Service was unable to reach Karakalpakstan's Agricultural Ministry for comment.

Salt storms are common in areas near the Aral Sea, but this one carried salt over a much wider area.

Once one of the four largest seas on Earth, intensive irrigation projects set up by the Soviets in the 1960s led to its desiccation.

The runoff from nearby agricultural fields has polluted the remaining parts of the Aral Sea with pesticides and fertilizers, which have crystallized with the salt.

Inhalation of the salt can cause severe throat and lung problems. The salt also can poison farmers' produce and cause chemical damage to buildings.

https://www.rferl.org/a/toxic-aral-sea-salt-storm-sweeps-over-parts-of-uzbekistan-turkmenistan/29257503.html

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Salt Glaciers

Masses of salt that erupt onto Earth's surface and flow under their own weight

https://geology.com/stories/13/salt-glacier/

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9 Different Kinds of Salt: Which Is the Healthiest?

Apr. 09, 2016

https://www.ecowatch.com/9-different-kinds-of-salt-which-is-the-healthiest-1891079937.html

Salts have exploded with popularity. What once was a simple decision between iodized table salt or sea salt has become a sensory overload. Walk into Whole Foods to restock on salt and you'll be confronted with a dazzling array of colors, textures and price points. But, what really differentiates specialty salts? Are expensive salts actually worth the money?
What once was a simple decision between iodized table salt or sea salt has become a sensory overload. Walk into Whole Foods to restock on salt and you'll be confronted with a dazzling array of colors, textures and price points.

Here is a guide to nine different culinary salts that will help you decide what salt is best for your needs.

1. Table

Table salt is created by superheating natural salt to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, which destroys most beneficial compounds. Fortified with essential iodine, table salt is also bleached and devoid of trace elements, so it's certainly not the healthiest salt you can shake. This type of salt can often contains additives to slow moisture absorption so it is easy to sprinkle in your salt shaker.

Some experts claim that this highly refined version of salt is responsible for many sodium-related health issues, whereas unrefined salts heal the body instead of harming it.

2. Sea

Most people are very familiar with sea salt. This salt comes from—you guessed it—the ocean and undergoes an evaporation process to separate the salt from the water. Sea salt contains a small amount of natural iodine, although not nearly as much as iodized salt. It is typically much less refined than table salt and comes in both fine and coarse varieties.

While sea salts are a great unrefined choice, unfortunately, pollution is steadily becoming a concern. Whereas ancient seas were once clean, we have sullied our ocean coastlines with pollutants like microplastics. While this is no means a reason to give up sea salt—microplastics have infiltrated nearly everything—it's good to keep yourself in the know and balance your sea salt consumption with other, earth-bound salts.

3. Himalayan Pink

These salts come from ancient seabeds in the Himalayan mountains. Their pink color comes from their rich iron content. This salt is, in fact, quite rich in minerals, containing all 84 essential trace elements required by your body. Pink salt can assist in many bodily functions, such as reducing muscle cramps, promoting blood sugar health and promoting healthy pH in your cells.

Many experts recommend pink salt as one of the healthiest salts you can consume. Its popularity has made it more affordable than other more exotic salts on the market.

4. Grey

Colored by the clay from where it's harvested, grey salt is often called Celtic Sea Salt. It is hand-raked in Brittany, France, where the natural clay and sand create moist, mineral-rich crystals. This salt generally retains its moistness.

Grey salt can help to restore electrolyte balance, has alkalizing properties and can prevent muscle cramps, much like pink salt. However, this salt is a bit more expensive, due to the labor intensive process of hand-raking.

5. Fleur de sel

Meant to be used as a finishing salt, this “flower of the salt"� usually has a hefty price tag. It is hand-harvested along the French coastline in the same pools as grey salt.

However, for every 40 kilograms of grey salt produced, only 1 1/2 kilograms of delicate fleur de sel is harvested. This light and flaky salt is highly prized and generally used for finishing foods. In terms of health, it's simply a pricey mineral-rich sea salt with a delicate flavor and texture.

6. Black

Originating from Hawaii, black lava salt is unrefined and volcanic. Its black color is due to its content of activated charcoal, which is great for digestion and removing impurities in the body.

The contrast of color can also make dishes more visually interesting. There is also another black salt, kala namak, which originates from India and is actually pink once it's ground. It is highly sulphuric in taste and content. For this reason, it is thought to be a beneficial digestive aid. Both black salts are highly prized and can be healthful when used on occasion.

7. Red

Another Hawaiian salt, red salt gets its color from the volcanic Hawaiian clay called alaea. As water evaporates, this salt gets trapped in tidal pools, where it mixes with the alaea.

It is estimated to contain the highest concentration of essential trace minerals of any salt and is especially iron rich. If you have a tendency to be low in iron, this salt may be a good addition to your balanced diet.

8. Persian Blue

This unique salt harvested from an ancient salt lake in Iran is extremely mineral rich and slightly sweet. Its blue color comes not from mineral content, but from the natural compression of the salt's structure over the millennia. The same beautiful effect is seen in blue glacial ice, where the molecular structure has been compressed to the point that it begins to refract light differently.

While aesthetically exciting, as one of the rarest salts in the world, this salt may not be worth the price tag if you're just shopping for health benefits.

9. Smoked

Smoked salts have no significant nutritional benefits over normal sea salt. In fact, they are simply sea salts smoked at low temperatures over a bed of coals, which lends a lovely smokey flavor to the crystals and a grey or tan color. The smokey flavor lends dimension to certain dishes, but they have no health benefits beyond those associated with regular sea salt.

When it comes to choosing a healthy salt, don't get confused by price. In general, it's better to consume unrefined salt over table salt, since it's generally lower in sodium and high in essential minerals. Other than that, you don't need to spend a fortune to consume healthy salt. Exotic salts can make for a lovely culinary experience, but in terms of health, no single unrefined salt is undeniably better than another. Choose a salt that suits your needs and enjoy it in combination with a smart, healthy lifestyle.

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The Ultimate Salt Information Guide | SaltWorks

https://seasalt.com/salt-101

-----------------

A NEW SALT CULTURE

2016

https://zannifoodcuriosities.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-new-salt-culture.html

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Gourmet Salt

March 16, 2013

https://kimkiminy.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/gourmet-salt/

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Blue Salt Mine, Semnan, Iran

https://ariosalt.com/blue-salt-mine-semnan-iran/

-----------------

Salts - NOT Created Equal!

https://www.drlaurakorman.com/salts

Persian Blue: A unique salt harvested from an ancient salt lake in Iran is extremely mineral rich and slightly sweet. Its blue color comes not from mineral content, but from the natural compression of the salt's structure over the millennia. The same beautiful effect is seen in blue glacial ice, where the molecular structure has been compressed to the point that it begins to refract light differently. While aesthetically pleasing, as one of the rarest salts in the world, this salt may not be worth the price tag if you're just shopping for health benefits.

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Persian Pattern

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/380061656031343776/

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The salt mines of Garmsar are an important natural resource and tourist attraction in Semnan province, central Iran.

June 10, 2020

Mainly located in the mountains or under the ground, the salt mines of Garmsar extend like a winding tunnel in the heart of the earth. As a result, their salt is extracted through the room-and-pillar system.

Currently there are 92 salt mines around the city, which create about 400 job opportunities.

The purity of the salt extracted from a large part of these mines is over 98 percent: a feature that makes the salt of Semnan province stand out.

What follows are IRNA’s photos of the salt mines of Garmsar:

https://ifpnews.com/irans-beauties-in-photos-salt-mines-of-garmsar

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The Salt Men of Iran: 1,800 years old mummies found in the Chehrabad salt mines in Zajan

ep 13, 2016

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/13/salt-men-iran-1800-years-old-mummies-found-chehrabad-salt-mines-zajan/

----------------------------

A contribution to Salinity and Saline Soils in Iran

May 29, 2017

https://themediaexpress.com/2017/05/29/a-contribution-to-salinity-and-saline-soils-in-iran/

The existing century is marked with global scarcity of water resources, environmental pollution and increased salinization of soil and water (1). An increasing human population and the reduction of land availability for cultivation are threats for agricultural sustainability (2). Various environmental stresses, such as high winds, extreme temperatures, soil erosion, soil salinity, drought and flood, have affected the production and cultivation of agricultural crops (3). Among these, soil salinity is one of the most devastating environmental stresses, which causes major reductions in cultivated land area, crops productivity, and harvests quality (4).

----------------------------

Accuracy Assessment of Soil Salinity Map in
Yazd-Ardakan Plain, Central Iran, Based on

May 2008

https://moam.info/accuracy-assessment-of-soil-salinity-map-in-yazd-_5bb98c87097c47a6358b462f.html

----------------------------

Soil Salinity and Alkalinity Map Preparation Based on Spatial Analysis of GIS (Case Study: Tabriz Plain)

June 2017

https://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=76749

----------------------------

Southern provinces of Iran face issue of drought and water salinity

July 3, 2019

https://en.trend.az/iran/3084869.html

----------------------------

Modeling Soil Salinity along a Hillslope in Iran by Inversion of EM38 Data

June 2015

https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2136/sssaj2014.11.0447

----------------------------

Ascribing soil erosion of hillslope components to river sediment yield

2017

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27742155/

----------------------------

Extent and characterisation of salt‐affected soils in Iran and strategies for their amelioration and management

2007

https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ldr.818

Abstract

Salinisation of land resources is a major impediment to their optimal utilisation in many arid and semi‐arid regions of the world including Iran. Estimates suggest that about 34 million ha, including 4·1 million ha of the irrigated land, are salt‐affected in Iran as the consequence of naturally occurring phenomena and anthropogenic activities. The annual economic losses due to salinisation in the country are more than US$ 1 billion. With variable levels of success, different approaches—salt leaching and drainage interventions, crop‐based management, chemical amendments and fertilisers and integrated application of these approaches—have been used to enhance the productivity of salt‐affected soils in the Country. From sustainable management perspective, it is revealed from the past research that integrated salinity management and mitigation approaches have the potential to successfully address the complex problems of salt‐induced land degradation in Iran. As the growing need to produce more food and fibre for the expanding Iranian population necessitates the increased use of salt‐affected land resources in the foreseeable future, there is an urgent need to develop and implement a pertinent National Strategic Plan. In addition to establishing networks for monitoring spatial and temporal changes in soil salinity and water quality, this plan should integrate the management of salt‐affected environments into the overall management of land and water resources in the country. It should also address different management aspects of salt‐affected land resources in a holistic manner by considering the biophysical and environmental conditions of the target areas as well as livelihoods of the affected communities. The involvement of the communities will facilitate in developing a greater understanding about the potential uses and markets of the agricultural products produced from salt‐affected areas.

----------------------------

Digital Mapping of Topsoil Salinity Using Remote Sensing Indices in Agh-Ghala Plain, Iran

2016

https://ecopersia.modares.ac.ir/article-24-9565-en.pdf

----------------------------

Microbial diversity in the hypersaline Lake Meyghan, Iran

2017

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28912589/

Abstract

Lake Meyghan is one of the largest and commercially most important salt lakes in Iran. Despite its inland location and high altitude, Lake Meyghan has a thalassohaline salt composition suggesting a marine origin. Inputs of fresh water by rivers and rainfall formed various basins characterized by different salinities. We analyzed the microbial community composition of three basins by isolation and culturing of microorganisms and by analysis of the metagenome. The basins that were investigated comprised a green ~50 g kg^-1 salinity brine, a red ~180 g kg^-1 salinity brine and a white ~300 g kg^-1 salinity brine. Using different growth media, 57 strains of Bacteria and 48 strains of Archaea were isolated. Two bacterial isolates represent potential novel species with less than 96% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity to known species. Abundant isolates were also well represented in the metagenome. Bacteria dominated the low salinity brine, with Alteromonadales (Gammaproteobacteria) as a particularly important taxon, whereas the high salinity brines were dominated by haloarchaea. Although the brines of Lake Meyghan differ in geochemical composition, their ecosystem function appears largely conserved amongst each other while being driven by different microbial communities.

----------------------------

Field Screening of Salinity Tolerance in Iranian Bread Wheat Lines

2015

https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2135/cropsci2013.06.0359

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Determination of the Optimal Salinity and Algal Diet for Culture of the Rotifer, Brachionus rutandiformis for Rearing of Larval Fin Fish in Iran

2011

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.390.6967&rep=rep1&type=pdf

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Salinity effects on osmoregulation and gill morphology in juvenile Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus)

2016

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27341821/

----------------------------

Hydroponic Saffron Cultivation and the Effects of Soil Salinity

Nov 4, 2019

https://medium.com/@milankordestani/hydroponic-saffron-cultivation-and-the-effects-of-soil-salinity-174774863451

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Physiology of salinity tolerance in Bromus danthoniae genotypes originated from saline and non-saline areas of West Iran

February 2017

https://bioone.org/journals/Crop-and-Pasture-Science/volume-68/issue-1/CP16311/Physiology-of-salinity-tolerance-in-Bromus-danthoniae-genotypes-originated-from/10.1071/CP16311.short

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Effects of salinity stress on some growth, physiological, biochemical parameters and nutrients in two pistachio (Pistacia vera L.)rootstocks

2018

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17429145.2018.1424355

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Iran Losing Pistachio Orchards to Water Crises, Soil Salinity

September 03, 2017

https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/71694/iran-losing-pistachio-orchards-to-water-crises-soil-salinity

----------------------------

Can Alternative Metabolic Pathways and Shunts Overcome Salinity Induced Inhibition of Central Carbon Metabolism in Crops?

August 4, 2020

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.01072/full

---------------------------

Regulation by arbuscular mycorrhizae of the integrated physiological response to salinity in plants: new challenges in physiological and molecular studies

May 2, 2012

https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/63/11/4033/603970

----------------------------

Recovery of Run off of the Sewage Refinery, a Factor for Balancing the Isfahan-Borkhar Plain Water Table in Drought Crisis Situation in Isfahan Province-Iran

2015

http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.ajee.20150502.02.html

----------------------------

Distributions of carbon in calcareous soils under different land uses in western Iran

2016

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09542299.2016.1215775

----------------------

A study on carbon stoks and CO2 uptake in natural pistachio-Amygdalus forest research in Fars, Iran

2013

https://www.imedpub.com/articles/a-study-on-carbon-stoks-and-cosub2sub-uptake-in-natural-pistachioamygdalusforest-research-in-fars-iran.pdf

----------------------

Soil properties and carbon sequestration in Persian oak (Quercus brantii var. persica) forests, Iran

2019

https://www.agriculturejournals.cz/web/jfs.htm?type=article&id=140_2018-JFS

----------------------

Effect of fire severity on physical and biochemical soil propertiesin Zagros oak (Quercus brantiiLindl.) forests in Iran

2017

https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/jrnl/2016/nrs_2016_heydari_001.pdf

---------------------

Tree species effects on albedo, soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in a temperate forest in Iran

01.09.2019

https://www.forestscience.at/artikel/2019/3/tree-species-effects-on-albedo--soil-carbon-and-nitrogen-stocks-.html

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World’s soils have lost 133bn tonnes of carbon since the dawn of agriculture

2017

https://www.carbonbrief.org/worlds-soils-have-lost-133bn-tonnes-of-carbon-since-the-dawn-of-agriculture

The world’s soils have lost a total of 133bn tonnes of carbon since humans first started farming the land around 12,000 years ago, new research suggests. And the rate of carbon loss has increased dramatically since the start of the industrial revolution.

The study, which maps where soil carbon has been lost and gained since 10,000BC, shows that crop production and cattle grazing have contributed almost equally to global losses.

Understanding how agriculture has altered soil carbon stocks is critical to finding ways to restore lost carbon to the ground, another scientist tells Carbon Brief, which could help to buffer the CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere.

----------------------

Soil carbon capacity in a grassy rangeland ecosystem in North-western Iran: Implication for conservation

2013

https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJAR/article-full-text-pdf/B3368F935983

---------------------

Simulating soil organic carbon stock as affected by land cover change and climate change, Hyrcanian forests (northern Iran)

December 1, 2017

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969717311774

----------------------

Study: Better Soil Could Trap as Much Planet-warming Carbon as Transport Produces

November 14, 2017

https://www.voanews.com/science-health/study-better-soil-could-trap-much-planet-warming-carbon-transport-produces

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Methane transport and emissions from soil as affected by water table and vascular plants

2013

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3847209/

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IMPROVING STRATEGIES FOR METHANE MITIGATION FROM
RICE SOIL

3rd International Conference on Rangeland, Watershed and Desert 2013 Iran
Karaj, Iran, 2013

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259102403_REVIEW_ARTICLE_IMPROVING_STRATEGIES_FOR_METHANE_MITIGATION_FROM_RICE_SOIL

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Methane uptake from forest soils has ‘fallen by 77% in three decades’

06.08.2018

https://www.carbonbrief.org/methane-uptake-from-forest-soils-has-fallen-77-per-cent-three-decades

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Scientists concerned by ‘record high’ global methane emissions

14.07.2020

https://www.carbonbrief.org/scientists-concerned-by-record-high-global-methane-emissions

Three regions – Africa and the Middle East, China, and South Asia and Oceania – saw the largest increase in methane emissions, the researchers say. Each saw emissions jump by 10-15m tonnes between the 2000-06 average and 2017.

----------------------

Land use effects on soil quality indicators in north-eastern Iran

2007

https://www.publish.csiro.au/sr/SR07049

----------------------

Iran's Capital City Is Being Devoured by Sinkholes

January 28, 2019

https://www.livescience.com/64604-iran-tehran-sinkholes-fissures-drought.html

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Sinkholes spread across Iran, triggered by drought and excessive pumping

January 24, 2019

A 30-year drought and over-reliance on ground aquifers have caused fissures and massive holes to appear in Iran, threatening vital infrastructure including the international airport, an oil refinery, and a key highway.

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2019/0124/Sinkholes-spread-across-Iran-triggered-by-drought-and-excessive-pumping

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Large earth cracks and massive sinkholes opening across drought-hit Iran

January 28, 2019

Massive fissures and sinkholes are appearing in and around Iranian capital Tehran and authorities are now openly admitting the area around Tehran is literally sinking. Huge fissures and sinkholes are also opening across the country, threatening homes, roads, oil pipelines, manufacturing plants and other infrastructure.

https://watchers.news/2019/01/28/earth-crack-sinkhole-iran/

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A giant sinkhole opens up in drought-hit Iran

08/27/2018

https://observers.france24.com/en/20180827-giant-sinkhole-drought-iran-Hamadan

A giant sinkhole about 60 metres deep has made a surprise appearance in western Iran. The sinkhole opened up on August 19 near the small village of Kerdabad, in the Kabudrahang county of the western province of Hamadan. It has terrified both locals and experts, who say this phenomenon shows that groundwater tables have been badly damaged.

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City Official Warns Ground In Tehran Sinking At Alarming Rate

Officials in Iran have again warned that the ground around the capital city Tehran is sinking and it will not be long before the subsidence begins affecting the center of the 10-million population city.

In Summer the head of Mapping Organization had warned that the subsidence was picking up pace and approaching the Azadi monument.

On October 30, the technical deputy of the organization told the semi-official ISNA news website that some electricity towers have tilted as a result of the land subsidence.

The ground in areas around Tehran is sinking at a rate of 26 centimeters or 10 inches a year, Yahya Jamour told ISNA, and this is the reason the electrical grid faces problems.

Ali Beytollahi the head of Iran’s Seismology Center also says that in the Varamin region near Tehran three high-voltage electricity lines and railroads are facing dangers.

The ground subsidence is not limited to Tehran. Jamour says that most plains in Iran are sinking but the phenomenon is threatening the center of the capital city. The estimated rate of subsidence in Tehran is 18 centimeters or close to 8 inches.

The main reason is depletion of underground water reservoirs, as years of drought and water mismanagement led to overuse. In some parts of Iran large sink holes have appeared.

Last year, the official news agency IRNA reported that in some areas the ground has subsided 54 cm or nearly two feet, which is 140 times the world standard considered critical.

A sinkhole in Iran

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/city-official-warns-ground-in-tehran-iran-sinking-at-alarming-rate/30245807.html

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Why Tehran is sinking dangerously

December 6, 2018

Satellite data show over-extraction of water threatens Iranian capital

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181206115935.htm

Summary:
Researchers have used data from radar satellites to measure the subsidence of the Earth's surface in the Tehran region in Iran. They found out that between 2003 and 2017 three areas sank there with rates of sometimes more than 25 centimeters per year, and several meters in total. For the first time, this study traces in detail the subsidence in this region over a longer period of time.

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Tehran Is Sinking Dramatically, And It May Be Too Late to Recover

December 04, 2018

https://www.livescience.com/64235-tehran-is-sinking.html

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Giant sinkholes form around Tehran due to drought and excessive water pumping in Iranian capital

January 24, 2019

Officials warn sinking poses grave danger to country amid violence over water scarcity

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-sinkholes-tehran-drought-water-pumping-land-subsidence-a8743976.html

----------------------------

Gas Production Potential in the Landfill of Tehran by Landfill Methane Outreach Program

2015

https://sites.kowsarpub.com/jjhs/articles/15030.html

----------------------------

Giant landfill in Iran creates thousands of litres of contaminated water

06/14/2016

When the Saravan landfill was first established in 1984, it was only supposed to be temporary. But in the years since, it has become the biggest landfill in northern Iran. The once forested site is now buried under toxic mountains of rubbish. Every day, thousands of litres of water contaminated by this landfill flow towards nearby rivers. Locals are starting to worry about the effects of the toxins seeping into their water.

The Saravan landfill is about 15 kilometres from Rasht, the capital city of Gilan, a province in northern Iran. Ten years ago, the spot where the landfill is now located was a forested valley nicknamed “pheasant’s valley”.

But everything changed in 1984. The region’s growing population was creating more and more waste, and the authorities decided that they needed to construct a landfill in the area. Back then, no studies were done to look at the potential impact of a landfill on the environment. The dump in Saravan was supposed to be temporary and to be limited in size to about 250,000 square metres, but now, this landfill has become the largest in northern Iran. More than 500 tonnes of rubbish are dumped there every day. The region – including Rasht and nearby towns – has a population of about a million people. The steady stream of incoming waste in a limited surface space (due to its valley location) has led to a rubbish pile-up. The mountain of waste in Saravan now towers more than 70 metres high.

https://observers.france24.com/en/20160614-iran-pollution-environment-water-landfill

----------------------------

Assessment of metal contamination in Arabian/Persian Gulf fish

2019

https://www.rti.org/publication/assessment-metal-contamination-arabianpersian-gulf-fish

Abstract

Metal contamination in fish is a concern worldwide, including in the Arabian/Persian Gulf region. This review summarizes the findings from 55 papers about metal concentrations in Gulf fish. Metal concentrations in muscle tissue were screened against the most recent maximum allowable levels (MALs) for fish in international commerce. We identified metals, fish species, and locations where concentrations exceeded the MALs. For some metals, recent MALs have been set to lower concentrations as more toxicological data have become available. Mean fish tissue concentrations exceeded the MAL in 13% (arsenic), 76% (cadmium), 56% (lead), and 10% (mercury) of species means. We identified 13 fish species with the potential to serve as bioindicators of metal contamination for use in four Gulf habitats: pelagic, benthopelagic, demersal, and coral reefs. Recommendations are provided for a regional approach to improve consistency of sampling, data analysis and reporting of metal concentrations in Gulf fish.

----------------------------

The death of dozens of dolphins reveals Persian Gulf pollution

10/08/2007

Area around Hormozgan in Iran indicated for high levels of pollution due to petrol waste, industrial discharges and shipping. Residents refuse to eat fish caught locally. But local authorities are more concerned about bad press than tackling the issue at stake.

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/The-death-of-dozens-of-dolphins-reveals-Persian-Gulf-pollution-10495.html

----------------------------

Environmentalists alarmed by 'mass dolphin suicide'

29 OctOctober 2007

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-10-30/environmentalists-alarmed-by-mass-dolphin-suicide/710682

----------------------------

Iran: Spill, Dolphin Deaths Spark Alarm At Persian Gulf Pollution

October 03, 2007

https://www.rferl.org/a/1078857.html

----------------------------

Protest in Mauritius Over Oil Spill, Dozens of Dead Dolphins

August, 2020

https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2476306/protest-mauritius-over-oil-spill-dozens-dead-dolphins

----------------------------

Iran: Spill, Dolphin Deaths Spark Alarm At Persian Gulf Pollution

October 3, 2007

http://payvand.com/news/07/oct/1036.html

-----------------------

Groundwater depletion in the Middle East from GRACE with implications for transboundary water management in the Tigris‐Euphrates‐Western Iran region

10 January 2013

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wrcr.20078

Abstract

In this study, we use observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission to evaluate freshwater storage trends in the north‐central Middle East, including portions of the Tigris and Euphrates River Basins and western Iran, from January 2003 to December 2009. GRACE data show an alarming rate of decrease in total water storage of approximately −27.2±0.6 mm yr⁻¹ equivalent water height, equal to a volume of 143.6 km³ during the course of the study period. Additional remote‐sensing information and output from land surface models were used to identify that groundwater losses are the major source of this trend. The approach used in this study provides an example of “best current capabilities” in regions like the Middle East, where data access can be severely limited. Results indicate that the region lost 17.3±2.1 mm yr⁻¹ equivalent water height of groundwater during the study period, or 91.3±10.9 km³ in volume. Furthermore, results raise important issues regarding water use in transboundary river basins and aquifers, including the necessity of international water use treaties and resolving discrepancies in international water law, while amplifying the need for increased monitoring for core components of the water budget.

------------------------------

Determination of mercury, cadmium and lead in human milk in Iran

April 25, 2012

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0748233712445047

Abstract

Breast milk contains both essential and nonessential trace elements. Mercury, cadmium and lead are nonessential, potentially toxic heavy metals with hematotoxic, neurotoxic and nephrotoxic properties even at very low concentrations. The objectives of this study were to determine the concentrations of mercury, cadmium and lead in the breast milk of healthy lactating women who were living in Isfahan, Iran. Concentrations of mercury, cadmium and lead were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry in 37 milk samples from healthy lactating women collected on first to sixth postpartum week. Accuracy of the analysis was checked by various methods including the use of reference material. The mean ± SD of the concentrations of mercury, cadmium and lead in human milk were 0.92 ± 0.54 μg/L (range 0.0–2.07 μg/L), 1.92 ± 1.04 μg/L (range 0.45–5.87 μg/L) and 7.11 ± 3.96 μg/L (range 3.06–19.47 μg/L), respectively. The results of this study showed that the concentrations of mercury, lead and cadmium in the milk samples from lactating women in Isfahan were high, which makes a major public health hazard for the inhabitants, especially neonatal and children, of the industrial locations. The results of the present study indicate a need for establishing safe intake values of heavy metals in human milk.

-----------------------------

Estimation of environmental water requirements via an ecological approach: A case study of Bakhtegan Lake, Iran

March 2017

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925857416307376

------------------------------

Analyzing the Impacts of Climate Change on Water Level Fluctuations of Tashk and Bakhtegan Lakes and Its Role in Environmental Sustainability

2017

https://file.scirp.org/Html/6-1380684_74382.htm

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Origin and Distribution of Clay Minerals in Calcareous, Gypsiferous, Saline Soils and Sediments of Bakhtegan Lake Bank, Southern Iran

2007

iar.shirazu.ac.ir/pdf_187_b57546184ba85e682084ae7f7fea3683.html

------------------------------

Isolation and identification of phenol degrading bacteria from Lake Parishan and their growth kinetic assay

2010

https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajb/article/view/92535

----------------------------

Acid rain in Ahvaz poisons thousands of Iranians

11/29/2013

https://observers.france24.com/en/20131129-acid-rain-ahvaz-poisons-thousands-iranians-pollution-air-iran-khuzestan-breathing-respiratory-environment

----------------------------

Iran pollution and 'acid rain' sees at least 50 hospitalised

November 6, 2013

Spate of heavy rain and lightening is believed to have caused breathing problems for some in the heavily polluted city of Ahvaz

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-pollution-and-acid-rain-sees-at-least-50-hospitalised-8923910.html

----------------------------

Acid rain blamed as thousands seek treatment in Ahwaz

October 31, 2015

https://en.radiozamaneh.com/25816/

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Hundreds Of People Suffering Respiratory Problems After Acid Rains In Iran

October 28, 2019

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/hundreds-of-people-suffering-respiratory-problems-after-acid-rains-in-iran/30239945.html

----------------------------

Acid Rain and Its Effects on the Lakes of Fars County in Iran

2012

http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.ajee.20120205.04.html

----------------------------

And now comes the acid rain

February 14, 2018

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/421255/And-now-comes-the-acid-rain

----------------------------

Iraq's burning oil wells will likely cause black rain in Iran's Khuzestan province

3/26/03

http://www.payvand.com/news/03/mar/1130.html

Director-General of Khuzestan province Department of Environment Kazem Sepehrfar on Wednesday predicted the possible black acidic rainfalls across the province, following the gustly wind in Ahvaz, IRNA reported.

He told IRNA that according to Khuzestan Meteorological Department, the windblow originated from the Saudi Arabian desert area and a low weather front suspending over eastern Iraq.

"The gustly wind consisting of heavy hydrocarbons and circular compounds mainly account for the acid rainfalls, while a mixture of the gases resulting from Iraq's burning oil wells and dust have penetrated Iran's air space.

Sepehrfahr noted that the black rain can severely pollute the water ecosystems, damage the air-generating micro-organisms in the soil, reduce the fertility of the agricultural lands and interfere with the growth of the planted seeds.

The environmental official also referred to the circular compounds of the acidic rain as the main cause for the air pollution and a threat against the human health and the early death of the patients...

----------------------------

Environmental Execution Of Khuzestan – OpEd

February 16, 2022

https://www.eurasiareview.com/16022022-environmental-execution-of-khuzestan-oped/

Khuzestan plain is one of the oldest regions on the Iranian plateau, where the Aryan nations were living since 2700 BC and one of the first civilizations of that era was formed. This province was most proud of its landscape with palm trees, agriculture, and oil related industries.

The existence of five rivers, all of which originate from the Zagros Mountains, irrigate the Khuzestan Plain, and after a few hundred kilometers flow into the Persian Gulf. This setting had made the province the most water rich in Iran.

The Karun River was the largest of these rivers and the only navigable river in Iran that ships entered from the Persian Gulf and anchored at the ports of Abadan, Khorramshahr, and Ahvaz. Once, ships ran up the Karun as far as Shushtar, including those that in the early twentieth century supplied the Anglo-Persian Oil Company or collected Iranian pilgrims beginning a journey to the holy Muslim sites in Iraq.

Now, looking at Karun from the top of Naderi bridge in Ahvaz, all you see is an almost green glow of industrial waste and sewage discharged from growing cities of Ahvaz, Mollasani, Shushtar, and Gotvand. Air and water pollution is contributing to long term changes in Horolazim and Shadegan wetlands, as well as Karun, Karkheh and Jarrahi rivers, the most critical water resources of the province, which are depleted and contain unprecedented levels of toxic waste. Khuzestan’s Water and Electricity Company, a state body operating under the energy ministry, has repeatedly announced that pesticides and pollution from sugarcane production are a major source of water contamination in various Khuzestan rivers.

The existence of this number of rivers had historically played a decisive role in the development of this region. The people of this region had been engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and fishing since ancient times, using the fertile lands around these rivers.

Residents are mainly Arabs minority who live on farming, keeping date orchards, and livestock. They are not wealthy, especially those without a side business, which has become more and more common in recent years.

Khuzestan is experiencing a deteriorating shift in its ecosystem. Villagers attribute some of this vast change to sugarcane agribusiness. In 1962, Haft Tappeh, an area 15 km SE of ancient Susa, was turned into a 10,000 hectare sugarcane production plant. After the Iran-Iraq war in 1990s, another 70,000 hectare plant was established south of Ahvaz. Side industries also were established alongside; including fiberboards, industrial alcohol and livestock feed.

Sugarcane is a crop known for high water consumption, which often results in habitat loss and soil erosion. Sugarcane is not a native crop to the region, therefore, its environmental consequences have been catastrophic. There was already serious salt problem in the area that first sugarcane plant was established. Soil salinity was already high in areas planned for the project, as such, additional water required to drain salts out along with additional drainage costs.

Walking in the sugarcane fields today, one can notice barren patches of the field, with salt rising on the brown earth. These lands have been completely depleted, and are no longer productive.

Khuzestan province is home to two wetlands, which both are in an extreme critical state. Up to mid 1990s, the water depth in Horolazim wetland was ten meters with natural marshland grow all around it were as high as 13 meters. But hectare after hectare of the wetland was given away for IRGC oil exploration. The destruction of these environments is unquestionably linked to the worsening dust storms.

Iran’s government had insisted chocking dust storms were originated outside the country for the past decades. Finally, the Department of the Environment announced that most of the dust are originated inside Iran. A former departmental official told local media that the drying of Horolazim was one reason for the storms, with the loss of water due to oil exploration around the wetland beginning just after the war with Iraq.

These ecological changes have had monumental effects on wildlife of the marshlands. The marshland in southern Khuzestan was existential for domestic and migratory birds. Over 170 species of birds from 32 distinct families have been recorded according to the Iran’s Department of the Environment, various biologists and researchers. Toxic waste entering marshes has killed many birds.

Wetlands were also once full of fish, with villagers earning an income from fishing across Shadegan. More than 30 species of wetland fish and 40 sea fish have been recorded.

The drying out of rivers and wetlands in Khuzestan are due to massive IRGC dams construction and oil exploration in Horolazim, which has changed the region’s ecological landscape in a way war never did. Man driving out to Shadegan wetland 100 km south of Ahvaz can see changes from farmlands and date palms orchards, to barren desert, and suddenly to a marsh. Shadegan, one of the first registered international wetlands at the Ramsar Convention of February 1971, covers 300,000 hectares.

Unsustainable dams construction have been disastrous development for the wetlands in recent decades, which have left the riverbeds dry, exacerbated dust storms, water, and soil salinity. Gotvand Dam, inaugurated in 2012 supplies water to the sugarcane plants, lies on a salt bed, Gachsaran salt formation, a well known Iran’s classical environmental disaster.

A total of 170 dams were constructed on the basins of the Karkheh, Karun, Maroun, and Jarrahi rivers. Seventy of those dams were constructed on Karun. This is, while experts say none of the dams should have been constructed in the first place. Many ask why all these dams are needed? Where are the waters diverted to?

Further depleting Karun, water has been diverted to other provinces. During the Shah’s era, the first tunnel built to bring uper Karun water to Isfahan’s Zayandeh-Rud. Since then, pipes and canals have multiplied to include waterways to Qom, Yazd, Kerman and new routes to Isfahan.

After the discovery of Iran’s first oil reserves in Masjed Soleiman, Khuzestan became the richest province in Iran and the largest refinery in the Middle East was built in the city of Abadan. While Khuzestan is best known as Iran’s oil-rich province, it also lies in the fertile crescent, on some of the earth’s best water and land. More than one million hectares of its land are agricultural, and had provided the country with crucial crops during the cold seasons. But this has been changed as the rivers die out.

Palm trees are considered the main source of income for farmers of Khuzestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan, Kerman, and Fars provinces. The region was the main producer and exporter of date product in Iran, second after Egypt. However, farmers who have relied completely on these trees are now facing uncertainty and dark future as the regime refuses to provide them with the required water for their farmlands.

Although, a palm tree is capable of resisting harsh condition, yet it can be vulnerable to salty water, and hazardous dust storms, and die in short time. The Deputy Rural Cooperative Organization of Ahwaz explained that the input volume of Khuzestan various rivers water have been severely reduced. As a result of the low level of the water in the rivers, man has witnessed the surge of salty water from the sea into Karun River and other rivers, which increased the amount of salinity of the water in this river and date farms around them.

Additionally, as mentioned construction of Gotvand Dam, an IRGC created environmental disaster, where the lake’s bed is located on a mountain of salt, has contributed to increasing salinity of Karun River. This dam has been described as the salt mine, museum of environmental lesson, environmental disaster, and the big national mistake that has added an additional 25% to the salinity of Karun River.

The electrical conductivity (EC) of water is an indicator of its salinity, estimating the level of dissolved solids through the capacity of water to conduct electrical current. The EC level that sugarcane can tolerate is 1.7 mS/cm (mili Siemens per centimeter), whereas the EC level is 17 near the water sources for the sugarcane plants and above 4 mS/cm in some areas around Shadegan.

Entering salts into the marshlands have left its mark on villagers’ lives. Water buffalo must live around fresh water, and Horolazim is increasingly becoming unsuitable for them.

Those farmers who grow other crops like grain, tomatoes or okra, have noticed the effect of salinity as well. These crops that famers have harvested for decades but more and more in recent years, they grow, then, the crops die completely out due to salinity.

The Iran’s clerical regime committed crimes against Khusetanis have no limit. Of course, the regime’s violent crimes are not specific only toward Khuzestan, but they are spread all over Iran. Anything related to the life of people is subject of a brutal attack and is at the mercy of regime’s sinister schemes. The aggressive actions of ruling clerics are directed at people, places, animals, livelihoods, water and even the air.

During past 43 years of Iran’s clerical rule, there has been a rapid decrease in the number of palm trees in Khuzestan province and other date producing regions, leading to the destruction of five million out of six million palm trees in the region of Abadan. As a result of the government destructive policies, the remaining one million palm trees are left to die from thirst, causing hardships for many date farmers. Shadegan, another region that palm trees were main contributor to their economy had five million palm trees in 1989, now, there is only two million of those trees left. Again, those two million tree are awaiting their funeral.

Well, the question is why palm trees are dying? Main reason is thirst, lack of water. Another reason is rise in salinity level, which isn’t tolerable by palm trees, physiological thirst. Further, release of toxic discharge of sugarcane plants and other factories into rivers, which causes certain toxicity. Frequent toxic dust storms from dried up rivers’ beds and accumulation of dust on palm trees greenery, which prevents proper photosynthesis of palm trees, and finally pests attack.

The lack of moisture in soil allows wind to rise dust from the dried up riverbeds and plains, and carry them away as dust storms. The recent dust storms that have overtaken the cities of Ahvaz, Susangerd and Dezful are not a new phenomenon. They have been occurring on a smaller scale for years. They are connected to overlapping issues, some extending beyond Iran’s borders, which are tied together in climate change and global warming.

The dust storms are also taking the life of the date orchards, which is directly tied to the livelihood of villagers of the area and a typical part of this environment. Also, they are causing spread of a palm killing fungus, which generates large discolored patches on the palm leaves called fusarium.

Iranian environmentalists and civil engineers were deeply critical of post war water policy in Khuzestan. Now, the consequences of building so many dams are becoming evident.

Additionally, the Chinese oil companies that came in during the Ahmadinejad years have further exacerbated the water problem. Their companies had stated that, their technology won’t work in a maritime environment. Therefore, to explore oil, hectare after hectare of the plant species around Horolazim wetland were burned or bulldozed.

Today, 90% of Iran’s economy is under IRGC’s control and under direct supervision of Supreme Leader. However, since the structure of the governing system is corrupt, commanders, and officials of the IRGC are mostly individuals without real classical education and expertise, their control over the Iranian economy have destroyed Iran’s economic infrastructure. In addition to plundering Iran’s capital and wealth, they are only concerned with brutal suppression of Iranians, expanding the regime’s military, missile, and nuclear industries, and financing proxy and terrorist forces in the region. Thus, they have not paid attention to the reconstruction of any other infrastructures in the country.

Decades of mismanagement, corruption, wrong policies, terrorisms’ expenditure, and unsustainable economic plans of ruling clerics have exacerbated the internal and external factors, and worked to destroy the natural fabric of Khuzestan and whole Iran. Iran’s environmental crisis is intertwined with other socioeconomic crisis. The salvation of such crisis isn’t within the power of ruling clerics and the Iranian uprisings for “Freedom and Water” have decided to bring down this government in its entirety, which is enemy of humanity, freedom, peace, security happiness, and the welfare of people. Now, which side must free world take?

----------------------------

Iranian regime’s destructive policies turned Khuzestan into wasteland

January 18, 2022

The crimes against the environment of Iran’s clerical regime is not limited to Khuzestan. Anything related to the life of people is subject to a brutal attack and is at the mercy of the regime’s sinister schemes. The aggressive actions of the ruling clerics are directed at people, places, animals, livelihoods, water, and even the air. Writes Khalil Khani

Khuzestan plain is one of the oldest regions on the Iranian plateau, where the Aryan nations were living since 2700 BC and the first civilizations of that era were formed. The southwestern province was most proud of its landscape with palm trees and agriculture.

The existence of five rivers, all of which originate from the Zagros Mountains and irrigate the Khuzestan Plain and flow into the Persian Gulf after a few hundred kilometers had made this province the most water-rich province in Iran. The Karun River was the largest of these rivers and the only navigable river that ships entered from the Persian Gulf and anchored at the ports of Abadan, Khorramshahr, and Ahvaz.

The existence of this number of rivers has played a decisive role in the development of this region. The people of this region were engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, using the fertile lands around these rivers, and fishing since ancient times.

Also, after the discovery of Iran’s first oil reserves in Masjed Soleiman, Khuzestan became the richest province in Iran and the largest refinery in the Middle East was built in the city of Abadan.

The palm trees are considered one of the main sources of income not only for Khuzestan, but also, Bushehr, Hormozgan, Kerman, and Fars provinces palm farmers. The region is the main producer and exporter of date products in Iran, second after Egypt. However, farmers who have relied completely on these trees are now facing uncertainty and a dark future as the regime refuses to provide them with the required water for their farmlands.

Although a date palm tree is capable of resisting harsh conditions, it can be vulnerable to salty water, and hazardous dust storms, and die in a short time. According to the Deputy of the Rural Cooperative Organization of Ahvaz, “the input volume of water from Khuzestan’s various rivers have been severely reduced due to IRGC massive dams construction”. As a result of the low level of the water in the rivers, there has been a surge of salty water from the Gulf into Karun River and other rivers, which increased the amount of salinity of the water in this river and date farms around them.

In addition, the construction of Gotvand Dam, an IRGC created environmental disaster, where the reservoir’s bed is located on a mountain of salt, has contributed to increasing salinity of the Karun River. This dam has been described as the salt mine, environmental disaster, and the big national mistake that has an added an additional 25% of salinity to Karun River.

The crimes against the environment of Iran’s clerical regime is not limited to Khuzestan. Anything related to the life of people is subject to a brutal attack and is at the mercy of the regime’s sinister schemes. The aggressive actions of the ruling clerics are directed at people, places, animals, livelihoods, water, and even the air.

After more than 42 years of clerical rule, Iran has seen a gradual decline in the number of date palm trees in Khuzestan province and other date producing regions, leading to the destruction of five million out of six million date palm trees in the region of Abadan. As a result of the government’s destructive policies, the remaining one million date palm trees are left to die from thirst, causing hardships for many date farmers. Shadegan, another region that grew palm trees and was a main contributor to the economy had five million date palm trees in 1989, now, there are only two million of those trees left. Again, those two million trees will also die.

Another reason for the death of date palms is the release of toxic discharge of sugarcane plants and other factories into rivers, which causes certain toxicity. Frequent toxic dust storms from dried-up rivers’ beds and accumulation of dust on palm trees’ greenery, which prevents proper photosynthesis lead to the trees’ deaths.

A total of 170 dams were constructed on the basins of the Karkheh, Karun, Maroun, and Jarrahi rivers. Seventy of the dams were constructed on the Karun. This is while experts say none of the dams should have been constructed in the first place. Many ask why all these dams are needed and where the waters are diverted to.

The recent massive dust storms that have overtaken the cities of Ahvaz, Susangerd, and Dezful are not a new phenomenon. They have been occurring on a smaller scale for years.

They are connected to overlapping issues, some extending beyond Iran’s borders, which are tied together in climate change and global warming. Pollution of air and water is contributing to long-term changes in weather. Horolazim and Shadegan wetlands, as well as Karun, Karkheh, and Jarrahi rivers, the most critical water resources of the province, are depleted and contain unprecedented levels of toxic waste.

The lack of moisture in drying plains allows dust to rise as the wind blows and carries it away. While Khuzestan is best known as an energy-rich province, it also lies in the fertile crescent, on some of the earth’s best water and land. More than one million hectares of its land are agricultural, and it provides the country with crucial crops during the cold seasons. But this is changing as the rivers die out.

The people of Khuzestan especially, and other date-producing regions, have always been deprived of their wealth during the past 42 years and also during the Pahlavi era. The Shah ceded oil to Britain almost for free in order to maintain its rule while the clerical regime followed its fundamentalist expansionist policies to export its terrorism, causing the war between Iran and Iraq, which destroyed most of the cities in the western portion of Iran.

Khamenei’s most important agenda, as Supreme Leader, was to maintain his grip on power. Therefore, he gradually handed over most of the country’s affairs, including Iran’s important economic institutions, to the IRGC, a military force loyal to and dependent on him.

Today, 90% of Iran’s economy is under IRGC’s control and under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader. However, since the structure of the governing system is corrupt, commanders, and officials of the IRGC are mostly individuals without real classical education and expertise, their control over the Iranian economy has destroyed Iran’s economic infrastructure. In addition to plundering Iran’s capital and wealth, they are only concerned with the brutal suppression of Iranians, expanding the regime’s military, missile, and nuclear industries, and financing proxy and terrorist forces in the region. Thus, they have not paid attention to the reconstruction of any other infrastructures in the country.

In today’s Iran, any social issue one touches, the barrier of the Supreme Leader and the IRGC stands right in front of you regardless of the issue, including the issue of bread, water, air, shelter, and traffic, etc. Without the elimination of these barriers, one is unable to find a solution for existing sociopolitical problems in Iran.

https://www.weeklyblitz.net/oped/iranian-regimes-destructive-policies-turned-khuzestan-into-wasteland/

----------------------------

Air pollution from gas refinery through contamination with various elements disrupts semiarid Zagros oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) forests, Iran

07 January 2022

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-04429-8

----------------------------

Air pollution stifles Iran, India and Republic of Macedonia

https://www.ompe.org/en/air-pollution-stifles-iran-india-and-republic-of-macedonia/

In Tehran (Iran), the concentration of fine particles reached 181 micrograms per cubic meter against a rate below 25 μg / m3 averaged over 24 hours recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)

----------------------------

Tehran smog blamed for hundreds of deaths

November 17, 2016

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/17/middleeast/tehran-smog-deaths-iran/index.html

----------------------------

Air pollution crisis in Tehran; 14000 hospitalized

Dec 26, 2019

https://iranintl.com/en/iran-in-brief/air-pollution-crisis-tehran-14000-hospitalized

----------------------------

Tehran blanketed with smog for third day straight

Feb 7, 2018

https://www.waaytv.com/content/national/473047923.html

Schools will be closed for the third day straight on Wednesday in parts of Tehran, as severe air pollution continues to blanket the Iranian capital, according to the state-run Press TV. Schools will also be closed in the neighboring Alborz province.

A thick haze with dangerous pollution levels has covered Tehran since Monday, obscuring the city's skyline and prominent landmarks. Authorities also implemented traffic restrictions in an effort to improve air quality.

President Hassan Rouhani addressed the issue this week, saying Iranians "cannot be indifferent to the problem," the government's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

----------------------------

Driving In Tehran Looks Like An Absolute Nightmare

Aug 13, 2020

https://digg.com/2020/driving-in-tehran-looks-like-an-absolute-nightmare

----------------------------

Influential Factors of Air Pollution Awareness in Isfahan, Iran

https://journals.ut.ac.ir/article_69479.html

----------------------------

Status of CO as an air pollutant and its prediction, using meteorological parameters in Esfahan, Iran

2017

https://jpoll.ut.ac.ir/article_62770.html

----------------------------

Over 1,500 people hospitalised in Iran due to air pollution

December 16, 2019

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191216-over-1500-people-hospitalised-in-iran-due-to-air-pollution/

----------------------------

Air pollution and respiratory hospital admissions in Shiraz, Iran, 2009 to 2015

https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70205015

----------------------------

Death from Respiratory Diseases and Air Pollutants in Shiraz, Iran (2006-2012)

http://pubs.sciepub.com/jephh/3/1/2/

----------------------------

Iran’s air pollution kills 2700 people per year

30 October 2013

https://www.azernews.az/region/61141.html

----------------------------

Air pollution in Tehran kills 4000 people annually

November 18, 2013

https://www.azernews.az/region/61703.html

----------------------------

40,000 to 45,000 Premature Deaths in Iran Annually Due to Air Pollution

20th October 2021

https://irannewsupdate.com/news/society/40000-to-45000-premature-deaths-in-iran-annually-due-to-air-pollution/

----------------------------

Iran pollution worsens as thousands die

January 7, 2013

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-20937035

----------------------------

No Plan to Get Rid of Tehran’s Smog Blanket

November 27, 2019

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/100949/no-plan-to-get-rid-of-tehran-s-smog-blanket

----------------------------

Fake Certificates, Old Motorbikes Worsen Air Pollution Problems

July 29, 2019

Iran’s Department of Environment has raised the alarm that many drivers are circumventing air pollution regulations using counterfeit documents

https://financialtribune.com/articles/people/99169/fake-certificates-old-motorbikes-worsen-air-pollution-problems

----------------------------

DoE Blames Gasoline, Diesel Quality for Air Pollution

January 13, 2020

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/101685/doe-blames-gasoline-diesel-quality-for-air-pollution

----------------------------

Iran: Call for National Ban on Polluting Cars

September 16, 2019

The Interior Ministry has asked Iran Traffic Police to draw up a plan for extending the Air Pollution Reduction Scheme underway in the capital to the whole country

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/99886/iran-call-for-national-ban-on-polluting-cars

----------------------------

Karaj Imposes Ban on Old Cars

February 16, 2019

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/96718/karaj-imposes-ban-on-old-cars

----------------------------

The Effects of Atmospheric Processes on Tehran Smog Forming

2012

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3468992/

----------------------------

Iran braced for fresh wave of toxic smog

Jan 18, 2013

Elderly, children and pregnant women warned to stay indoors as political infighting hampers efforts to tackle air pollution

https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2013/jan/18/iran-pollution

----------------------------

Tehran’s football matches postponed as air pollution soars

November 29, 2019

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/442475/Tehran-s-football-matches-postponed-as-air-pollution-soars

----------------------------

Heavy pollution shuts schools in Iran’s capital

November 15, 2016

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/11/15/Heavy-pollution-shuts-schools-in-Iran-s-capital

----------------------------

Iran Forced to Declare Pollution Holiday Smog forces Tehran to shut down for 2 days

Dec 1, 2010

https://www.newser.com/story/106555/iran-forced-to-declare-pollution-holiday.html

----------------------------

SDSs haunting southeastern Iran, dozens hospitalized

August 10, 2019

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/439126/SDSs-haunting-southeastern-Iran-dozens-hospitalized

----------------------------

Air Pollution Costs Iran $20 Billion Per Year

January 13, 2017

https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/57352/air-pollution-costs-iran-20-billion-per-ye

----------------------------

Tehran air pollution mostly caused by defective vehicles

Dec 23, 2019

https://en.trend.az/business/economy/3167627.html

----------------------------

Health impact assessment of air pollution in Shiraz, Iran: a two-part study

2013

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3776287/

----------------------------

Air pollution causes protests in Iran’s Zanjan city

August 12, 2013

https://www.azernews.az/region/58015.html

Iran's Zanjan city residents protested against tens of zinc and lead factories, which are source of air pollution in the city.

Hundreds of Iranian Zanjan city residents gathered in front of Governor's office to protest air pollution caused by zinc and lead factories in the city, particularly a factory, which employs more than 500 workers, Fars news agency reported.

Protests particularly have targeted a lead factory located in 15 kilometers of Zanjan city.

Reportedly, the protesters requested either to halt the factory's activity or change its location to somewhere else.

People believe that the air polluted with zinc and lead is the cause of high number of cancer patient in the city.

----------------------------

Metallic pollution of soil in the vicinity of National Iranian Lead and Zinc (NILZ) Company

2016

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-016-6244-7

----------------------------

PHOTOS: Iranians Protest Air Pollution, Water Cuts In Ahvaz

02/15/17

http://www.payvand.com/news/17/feb/1077.html

----------------------------

Iranian, Indian cities ranked worst for air pollution

May 11, 2016

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-airpollution-idUSKCN0Y30AZ

----------------------------

U.S.-IRAN SYMPOSIUM ON AIR POLLUTION IN MEGACITIES

2013

https://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/Iran%20Symposium_9.18.2013_FINAL.pdf

---------------------------

Unhealthy Air Pollution in the Middle East in Summer

August 16, 2018

https://www.careourearth.com/unhealthy-air-pollution-in-the-middle-east-in-the-summer-season/

----------------------------

Iran’s Environment About to Be Wiped off the Map

June 8, 2018

https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/society/iran-s-environment-about-to-be-wiped-off-the-map/

Iran’s forests

According to UN Food and Agriculture Organization ‘FAO’, Iran’s forests in 1980 – a year after the 1979 anti-monarchy revolution – were about 18 million 43 thousand hectares, a figure that’s now been reduced by half after 39 years.
The main reasons for Iran’s deforestation are:

– Excessively cutting down the trees for wood export, mostly done by regime officials or affiliates.

– Building roads, villas and towns in forests, carried out by regime-linked companies.

– Regime security forces’ intentionally setting border forests on fire.

– Lack of fire extinguishing equipments like sprinklers, helicopters, etc.

– Shortage of forest patrols; while according to world standards one forest patrol is assigned to every five hectares of forest, an Iranian forester has to handle 70 hectares of forest, which is 14 times higher than the world standards.

Deforestation in turn could lead to dozens of other environmental harms, including soil erosion, air pollution, dry air, extinction of different animal species, flooding, and increased temperature.

Iran’s rivers

Iran’s drying rivers is another disaster in the country’s environment, with the main reasons being:

– Building excessive non-scientific dams across the rivers, mainly to receive state funds for subsequent financial corruption, or diverting water flow to state-owned industries.

– Directing water flow through non-expert tunnels or channels towards factories or private properties in exchange for taking bribes.

– Polluting rivers, and subsequently destroying animal and fish species, with industrial, hospital and urban wastewater.

– Lack of river maintenance, dredging and water management.

The above mentioned factors are only part of the problems that Iran’s flowing waters are faced with. Zayanderud River at the heart of Iran is now drying up, which more than anything else is a result of regime’s profit-seeking and predatory policies.

Building dams to direct Zayanderud water towards state-owned facilities and setting up a non-scientific tunnel network that has denied the river of its arteries are among the major reasons for the river being dried up. With Zayanderud draining out, Gavkhouni wetland has also disappeared, the region’s agriculture has been destroyed and its temperature has risen, and drought has encompassed the river’s all surrounding urban and rural areas, including the city of Isfahan.

The same is also true about hundreds of other rivers in the country.

Ahvaz’s Karun is about to be drained out while being deplorably captured by pollution, to the extent that in many part of the river only urban wastewater and animal carcasses could be seen.

As a result of filling a dam built across Karun, 63 villages were totally vanished and 8,000 jobs were gone.

With the river’s decreased discharge, sea water has penetrated more into the river and increased its salinity level. This in turn has led to extinction of some aquatic animals and disturbed the river’s fishing activities.

Many big rivers in northern Iran, including the Sefidrud, have turned into a place for discharge of wastewater and garbage coming from urban areas, factories and hospitals.

More than a thousand ton of industrial and urban wastewater is reportedly poured into Sefidrud and subsequently headed towards the Caspian Sea each year.

Pollution level in Caspian Sea’s coastal areas is so high that swimming in many parts of the sea could lead to skin and other kinds of diseases.

Iran’s lakes and wetlands

Another indicator of Iran’s red-status ecosystem is the destruction of the country’s lakes and wetlands.

The Environment Department says that 80 percent of the country’s wetlands have drained out.

This includes hundreds of ponds and small lakes along with dozens of wetlands and big lakes.

Lake Urmia is one of the country’s major concerns right now. In a word, the lake has been ravaged by state predators and those who move forward with their business by bribing state officials.

Most of the lake’s catchment areas have been blocked. More than 103 big dams and dozens more embankments have stopped the rivers and streams from pouring into the lake.

Moreover, more than 30 thousand illegal deep water wells have been dug around the lake, acting like holes to suck the lake’s water from beneath while gradually pushing the lake towards an imminent death; a death that won’t be limited the lake alone, but it will destroy an ecosystem and could potentially bring about disasters on a national level as well.

It’s said that the salt storms rising from the lake could encompass the entire northwestern Iran and hurt the soil with permanent fertility problems. This is while people in northwestern Iran are already suffering from respiratory problems and cancer.

These are of course in addition to extinction of the lake’s rarest animal species and dozens of birds.

And it’s not Lake Urmia alone that’s suffering from such a deplorable situation.

Bakhtegan, as one of Iran’s most beautiful lakes and a place for flamingos to lay eggs, has already been destroyed, with regime’s Ministry of Energy refusing to deliver the lake’s water right.

Many parts of the lake has now been assigned to private sector and turned into a race track for regime officials’ affluent offspring so they could perform wheelies and do acrobatic moves in their billion-toman luxury cars.

In addition to denying flamingos of a place for laying eggs, the lake’s drying up has had many destructive effects on orchards, farms and even locals’ health. There are still other lakes, including Hamoun, Parishan and Maharlou that have been dried up under the vilayat-e-faqih’s Iran-destroying regime.

Iran’s beautiful wetlands are other victims of regime’s destructive policies. Such transboundary wetlands like Hourolazim and Shadegan in southern Iran have been intentionally drained out by regime’s Revolutionary Guards to facilitate oil extraction in its Azadegan oil field.

With southern Iran’s wetlands dried up, a dust storm crisis has been raised in Khouzestan province, destroying lives of thousands of fishermen and farmers.

An overflow of petrochemical and industrial wastewater, sugarcane drainage in particular, has totally destroyed Iran’s southern wetlands. Sugarcane drainage is both saline and includes six types of different herbicides that affect living creatures, being accumulated in aquatic animals’ organs and subsequently transferred to consumers.

Anzali wetland is yet another victim of regime’s destructive policies. Also referred to as Caspian Sea’s purifier, the wetland has now turned into a place for discharge of different kinds of industrial wastewaters.

The crisis that has now engulfed Iran’s environment is by no means limited to the country’s forests, lakes and rivers, but it has much wider impacts that are not going to be discussed here. But the points already described are sufficient to make it clear that if we don’t act quickly to stop the current trend, which is the direct result of the policies of an anti-Iranian regime, the unexpected disaster will definitely take place over the coming decades, a disaster that will irreparably destroy many parts of the Iranian plateau.

----------------------------

Bad Ozone Reaching Critical Levels in Tehran

June 14, 2019

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/98420/bad-ozone-reaching-critical-levels-in-tehran

----------------------------

Iran's DoE Says Unable to Combat Air Pollution in the Short-Term

January 20, 2020

Successive governments have done nothing to improve the quality of the air, especially in mega cities, and expecting the deteriorating situation to change overnight would be naive

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/101799/irans-doe-says-unable-to-combat-air-pollution-in-the-short-term

----------------------------

Microplastic pollution in deposited urban dust, Tehran metropolis, Iran

2017

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28707239/

Abstract

Environmental pollutants such as microplastics have become a major concern over the last few decades. We investigated the presence, characteristics, and potential health risks of microplastic dust ingestion. The plastic load of 88 to 605 microplastics per 30 g dry dust with a dominance of black and yellow granule microplastics ranging in size from 250 to 500 μm was determined in 10 street dust samples using a binocular microscope. Fluorescence microscopy was found to be ineffective for detecting and counting plastic debris. Scanning electron microscopy, however, was useful for accurate detection of microplastic particles of different sizes, colors, and shapes (e.g., fiber, spherule, hexagonal, irregular polyhedron). Trace amounts of Al, Na, Ca, Mg, and Si, detected using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, revealed additives of plastic polymers or adsorbed debris on microplastic surfaces. As a first step to estimate the adverse health effects of microplastics in street dust, the frequency of microplastic ingestion per day/year via ingestion of street dust was calculated. Considering exposure during outdoor activities and workspaces with high abundant microplastics as acute exposure, a mean of 3223 and 1063 microplastic particles per year is ingested by children and adults, respectively. Consequently, street dust is a potentially important source of microplastic contamination in the urban environment and control measures are required.

----------------------------

Assessment of Heavy Metal Cu, Pb, Cd Contamination in Dust in Zahedan City using Pollution Indices and GIS and Geo Statistics Technologies, Zahedan, Iran

30 December 2020

https://thescipub.com/abstract/10.3844/ajeassp.2020.858.867

----------------------------

Dust Storm Predicament Persists

December 02, 2019

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/101016/dust-storm-predicament-persists

----------------------------

Rivers of Dust: The Future of Water and the Middle East

Aug 23, 2019

Without international diplomacy, the Middle East is going to run out of water — and it won’t be alone.

https://www.fairobserver.com/region/middle_east_north_africa/middle-east-water-security-scarcity-euphrates-turkey-syria-iraq-news-28014/

----------------------------

Tag Archives: Iran water shortage

https://theiranproject.com/blog/tag/iran-water-shortage/

----------------------------

Water crisis in Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_crisis_in_Iran

The Water crisis in Iran refers to the problems regarding water scarcity in Iran. Water scarcity can be a result of two mechanisms: physical (absolute) water scarcity and economic water scarcity, where physical water scarcity is a result of inadequate natural water resources to supply a region's demand, and economic water scarcity is a result of poor management of the sufficient available water resources. Iran's main concerns regarding the water crisis include high climatic variability, poor distribution of water, and prioritization of economic development.

Satellite imagery from 1984 to 2014 revealing Lake Urmia's diminishing surface area (video)

Water resources

Water Availability

Internal renewable water resources are estimated at 128.5 billion cubic meters (BCM)/year (average for 1977–2001). Surface runoff represents a total of 97.3 BCM/year, of which 5.4 BCM/year comes from drainage of the aquifers and thus needs to be subtracted from the total. Groundwater recharge is estimated at about 49.3 BCM/year, of which 12.7 BCM/year is obtained from infiltration in the river bed and also needs to be subtracted. Iran receives 6.7 BCM/year of surface water from Pakistan and some water from Afghanistan through the Helmand River. The flow of the Arax river, at the border with Azerbaijan, is estimated at 4.6 BCM/year. The surface runoff to the sea and to other countries is estimated at 55.9 BCM/year. Per capita water availability in the pre-Islamic Revolution era was about 4,500 cubic meters. In 2009, this figure was less than 2,000 cubic meters.

Water Usage

The total water withdrawal was estimated at about 70 BCM in 1993, rising to 93 BCM in 2004, of which 92% was used for agricultural purposes, 6% for domestic use and 2% for industrial use. Although this is equal to 51% of the actual available renewable water resources, annual abstraction from aquifers (57 BCM in 1993, 53 BCM in 2004) is already more than the estimated safe yield (46 BCM). Of the 4.3 BCM/year in 1993 (6.2 in 2004) used for domestic purposes, 61% is supplied from surface water and 39% from groundwater. For example, Greater Tehran with its population of more than 13 million is supplied by surface water from the Lar dam on the Lar River in the Northeast of the city, the Latyan dam on the Jajrood River in the North, the Karaj River in the Northwest, as well as by groundwater in the vicinity of the city. Provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Isfahan have the highest efficiency of irrigation with 54, 52 and 42 percents respectively, and Khuzestan province has the lowest irrigation efficiency with 38 percent. Tap water consumption in the country is 70% over and above the global average. 16 BCM of water was used for power generation in 1999.

As of 2014, Iran is using 70% of its total renewable freshwater, far above the upper limit of 40% recommended according to international norms.

Water Pollution

Water pollution is caused by industrial and municipal wastewater, as well as by agriculture. Concerning municipal wastewater, the bulk of collected sewage is discharged untreated and constitutes a major source of groundwater pollution and a risk to public health. In a number of cities without sanitary sewerage, households discharge their sewage through open rainwater drains.

----------------------------

Dam reservoirs shrink by 22%

January 23, 2022

TEHRAN – The total volume of water in dam reservoirs is estimated at about 20.8 billion cubic meters since the beginning of the current water year (September 23, 2021), showing a 22 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.

The precipitation rate during autumn (September 23-December 21, 2021) was not very favorable, as the Meteorological Organization has considered this autumn one of the driest seasons in the past 50 years.

But the situation has improved a bit during the winter, with relatively good rainfall in the country.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/469371/Dam-reservoirs-shrink-by-22

----------------------------

Lake Sevan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Sevan

Lake Sevan is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia.^[7] The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of 1,900.44 m (6,235 ft) above sea level. The total surface area of its basin is about 5,000 km² (1,900 sq mi), which makes up 1⁄6 of Armenia's territory. The lake itself is 1,264 km² (488 sq mi), and the volume is 32.8 km³ (7.9 cu mi). It is fed by 28 rivers and streams. Only 10% of the incoming water is drained by the Hrazdan River, while the remaining 90% evaporates.

The lake provides some 90% of the fish and 80% of the crayfish catch of Armenia.^[8] Sevan has significant economic, cultural, and recreational value. Its sole major island (now a peninsula) is home to a medieval monastery.

Sevan was heavily exploited for irrigation of the Ararat plain and hydroelectric power generation during the Soviet period. Consequently, its water level decreased by around 20 m (66 ft) and its volume reduced by more than 40%. Later two tunnels were built to divert water from highland rivers, which halted its decline and its level began rising. Before human intervention dramatically changed the lake's ecosystem, the lake was at an altitude of 1,916 m (6,286 ft) above sea level,^[3] 95 m (312 ft) deep, covered an area of 1,416 km² (547 sq mi) (5% of Armenia's entire area), and had a volume of 58.5 km³ (14.0 cu mi).

Pollution

The rivers feeding Lake Sevan flow through densely populated settlements which produce agricultural, domestic, and industrial waste. It significantly changes the lake's ecosystem. According to a 2017 study the lake's water contains concentration of metals such as aluminium, nickel, arsenic, cobalt, and lead.

According to Armenian environmental organization EcoLur, the lake is in a critical condition because of the presence of vanadium. Environmental Impact Monitoring Center, an agency of the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection, reported in 2012 that the average annual concentration of vanadium (64 μg/l) in the samples taken from Lake Sevan exceeded the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) by 6.4 times, while selenium (26 μg/l) exceeded MPC 2.6 times, copper (21 μg/l) 2.1 times, magnesium (60 μg/l) 1.2 times. A 2016 study found that mining and metallurgical industrial activities—namely the Sotk gold mine on the southeastern shore of the lake—caused significant heavy metal, especially vanadium, pollution of the Sotk and Masrik rivers in the Lake Sevan catchment basin. According to the researchers it "may have posed health risks to aquatic life as well as to humans (at least in the case of river water used for drinking purposes)."

----------------------------

Hydrochemical characteristics and groundwater quality assessment in Bushehr Province, SW Iran

June 24, 2015

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-015-4651-9

----------------------------

Photos: Lake Parishan Grappling with Drought

10/25/11

Lake Parishan is located close to the city of Kazerun in Iran's Fars Province. Parishan is the largest freshwater lake in the country. The lake receives only very small amount of water from feeder rivers and the whole lake/wetland is a protected area, as it is considered a globally significant wetland ecosystem.

Lake Parishan is also a casualty of the severe drought in recent years which has impacted other lakes and rivers across Iran. Mismanagement of water resources feeding these lakes has also been sighted as a big reason for the problem.

http://www.payvand.com/news/11/oct/1272.html

----------------------------

Evaluation of trace elements concentration in surface sediments of Parishan International Wetland (Fars Province, SW Iran) by using geochemical and sedimentological analysis

March 2020

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340347707_Evaluation_of_trace_elements_concentration_in_surface_sediments_of_Parishan_International_

Wetland_Fars_Province_SW_Iran_by_using_geochemical_and_sedimentological_analysis

This study investigated the concentration of trace metals in surface sediments of Parishan Lake. Parishan Lake is one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the Middle East, situated in Kazerun area (Fars Province, Iran). This preliminary study concerns the mineralogy, enrichment level, and trace elements source identification in surface sediment of this lake. The geochemical Enrichment Factor (EF) and Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and sedimentological approaches were applied to characterize the contamination by heavy metals, comparing with Average Shale. Multivariate statistical analysis was also used to identify probable studied elements sources in collected samples. The XRD and microscopic analysis show that main mineral of surface sediments is aragonite with small amounts quartz and nepheline. Chemical analysis of sediments showed that the mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Sr were 1.88, 27.2, 32.4, 18.6, 8.1, 38.4, and 3934.9 mg/kg, respectively, and average concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Sr exceeded the corresponding values of upper continental crust (UCC) values. The outcomes of this study indicate that geochemical indices (EF and Igeo) revealed an extremely high enrichment for Sr, whereas other elements had minimal enrichment. The levels of potential ecological risk index (RI) for studied trace elements in all sampling locations were 41.13 and 23.76, lower than baseline value (150), signifying that ecological risks displayed by those elements in sediments were moderate. The multivariate statistical analysis indicated that Sr had a geogenic source (natural source), while As and Cd came probably from Industrial source (chemical fertilizers), Ni and Cr were likely derived from vehicle emissions, particularly agricultural machinery, and Pb originated from exhaust and non-exhaust traffic emissions.

----------------------------

Software could help to save up to 80 per cent of water used on UAE farms

Feb 24, 2022

https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/environment/2022/02/25/software-could-help-to-save-up-to-80-per-cent-of-water-used-on-uae-farms/

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Esfahan Is Almost As Polluted As Tehran

October 30, 2010

https://www.greenprophet.com/2010/10/esfahan-pollution-tehran/

----------------------------

Association of geographical distribution of air quality index and type 2 diabetes mellitus in Isfahan, Iran

2015

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4476344/

----------------------------

Genetic variation in the association of air pollutants with a biomarker of vascular injury in children and adolescents in Isfahan, Iran

June 2011

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3214390/

----------------------------

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and total mortality ascribed to PM₁₀and PM_2.5exposure in Isfahan, Iran

2017

http://www.jehp.net/article.asp?issn=2277-9531;year=2017;volume=6;issue=1;spage=109;epage=109;aulast=Abdolahnejad;type=3

----------------------------

Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination and the Risk of Target Hazard Quotientin Some Vegetables in Isfahan

2019

https://jpoll.ut.ac.ir/article_74009_1d5e7b5291a52914b973e2adb72183bd.pdf

---------------------------

Identification of Algae as Pollution Bioindicators in Shakh-Kenar, Gavkhouni Wetland, Isfahan

2019

http://phycology.sbu.ac.ir/article/view/31483

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(Bridges) Isfahan's threatens Pollution :Official

Jun 7, 2004

https://en.irna.ir/news/8939719/bridges-Isfahan-s-threatens-Pollution-Official

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Desertification in Esfahan Province brings pollution problems

August 21, 2013

https://en.radiozamaneh.com/8942/

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Correlation between air pollution and hospitalization due to myocardial infarction

July 2019

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6884733/

----------------------------

Smog in Iran shuts schools, universities

November 30, 2019

https://phys.org/news/2019-11-smog-iran-schools-universities.html

Air pollution forced the closure of schools and universities in parts of Iran on Saturday, including Tehran, which was cloaked by a cloud of toxic smog, state media reported.

The young and elderly and people with respiratory illnesses were warned to stay indoors and sporting activities were suspended for the start of the working week in the Islamic republic...

----------------------------

Tehran, pollution emergency: schools closed, sports events cancelled

12/21/2017

All institutions in the capital and of some big cities like Isfahan, Tabriz, Urmia, and Arak have been closed for days. The authorities have forbidden the circulation of heavy vehicles and imposed alternate license plates. The problem of "thermal inversion" and the lack of rain throughout the autumn worsen the problem.

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Tehran,-pollution-emergency:-schools-closed,-sports-events-cancelled-42641.html

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Organochlorine pesticides contamination in agricultural soils of southern Iran

February 2020

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653519322222

----------------------------

Pesticide exposure and related health problems among family members of farmworkers in southeast Iran. A case-control study.

2020-08-19

https://www.x-mol.com/paper/1296579277006446592

-----------------------

An assessment of agricultural pesticide use in Iran, 2012-2014

2012

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/143846523.pdf

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Residues levels of pesticides in walnuts of Iran andassociated health risks

Dec 24, 2019

https://www.usask.ca/toxicology/jgiesy/pdf/publications/JA1095temp.pdf

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Potentially Toxic Element Content in Arid Agricultural Soils in South Iran

2020

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/4/564/htm

Abstract

Potentially toxic elements (PTE) are considered to be dangerous threats, both for human health and the environment. Here, the contamination level, sources, and ecological risks posed by PTE were investigated in 19 topsoils from agricultural lands in the Bandar Abbas County on the southern coast of Iran. The soil fraction <63 μm was used for the analysis of the pseudototal contents of PTE (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, and zinc). The results were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and Pearson’s correlations, different pollution indices [enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (Cf), and modified degree of contamination (mCd), and the potential ecological risk index (PERI). The results of the pollution indices showed that the contamination levels of the studied agricultural soils are low to moderate, while the average PERI values indicate that the ecological risks of PTE range from low to high in the soils of the studied area. Correlations and PCA analyses suggest that studied elements have three possible origins: geogenic (chromium, cobalt, copper, manganese, vanadium, and zinc), anthropogenic (cadmium, nickel, phosphorus and lead) and atmospheric (arsenic) sources. These findings are helpful for the long-term assessment of PTE in the Bandar Abbas County.

-----------------------------

What do we know about exposure of Iranians to cadmium? Findings from a systematic review

December 19, 2017

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-017-0863-8

Abstract

Cadmium is an important environmental contaminant. High consumption of chemical fertilizers and industrial activities in recent decades has caused people to be worried about exposure to cadmium. There is no policy for environmental and biological monitoring of exposure to cadmium in the general population in Iran. This study was aimed to review cadmium content in consuming foods and biological samples in Iran, systematically. We developed a comprehensive search strategy and used it to search on Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and Scientific Information Database until 28 December 2016. The totals of 285 articles were identified and finally 31 original papers were selected. Cadmium contamination was found in Iranian food groups such as rice, cereal and legumes, canned tuna fish, vegetables, fruit juice, and egg. This study showed that cadmium amount in 75% of the consumed rice samples (domestic and imported) was higher than the maximum limits approved by institute of standards and industrial research of Iran. Lettuce samples in Yazd were recorded the highest concentration of cadmium compared to other studies. In addition, high amount of cadmium was observed in the blood of the general population. Regarding the cadmium contamination in food and blood samples in Iran, policies must be adopted to reduce exposure to cadmium through different matrices as much as possible.

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Pollution intensity of nickel in agricultural soil of Hamedan region

2016

In the recent years, agricultural soils have received more chemicals in various forms for higher yields. This may result in the accumulation of metals in soils which subsequently may be transferred into the agricultural crops. In the present investigation,nickelcontent of 58 composite soil samples and also agricultural crops, is studied. Ni in samples of soil and agricultural products were extracted and determined using atomic absorption spectrometer. The spatial distribution map of Ni was drawn using Kriging method. Mean concentration of nickel in the soil of the study area is about 62mg.kg-1. It was also found that among the harvested crops, corn has a higher concentration of nickel than the standard limit. According to chemical fractionation results of nickel in soil, anthropogenic and natural shares of this metal are 19%, and 81% of the bulk concentration, respectively. Results of comparison of heavy metal pollution intensity in the agricultural soil by Igeoindex as well as IPOLLindex showed that Niis in the non-polluted to moderately polluted class. Analysis of zoning map of pollution index showed that Niis mainly of geological sources

https://cjes.guilan.ac.ir/article_1730_2f3c9f22ade6eb59819e6575935120c8.pdf

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Contamination of Toxic Heavy Metals in Various Foods in Iran: a Review

2017

https://www.jpsr.pharmainfo.in/Documents/Volumes/vol9Issue10/jpsr09101707.pdf

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Potentially Toxic Element Concentration in Fruits Collected from Markazi Province (Iran): A Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment

2019

Abstract

Objective This study was conducted to evaluate the concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in fruit samples collected from Markazi Province, Iran. A probabilistic health risk assessment due to ingestion of PTEs through the consumption of these fruits was also conducted. Methods The concentration of PTEs in 90 samples of five types of fruits (n = 3) collected from six geographic regions in Markazi Province was measured. The potential health risk was evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation model. Results A significant difference was observed in the concentration of PTEs between fruits as well as soil and water samples collected from different regions in Markazi Province. The order of PTE concentration in the soil and water samples was as follows: Pb > As > Hg > Cd. Furthermore, the highest level of transfer factor for Cd and Hg correlated with the grape. The estimated daily intake for adults and children was lower than the recommended tolerable daily intake. Conclusion The population in Markazi Province, Iran, is not at considerable noncarcinogenic or carcinogenic risk due to the ingestion of PTEs through the consumption of the examined fruits.

http://www.besjournal.com/article/doi/10.3967/bes2019.105

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1971 Iraq poison grain disaster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Iraq_poison_grain_disaster

The 1971 Iraq poison grain disaster was a mass methylmercury poisoning incident that began in late 1971. Grain treated with a methylmercury fungicide and never intended for human consumption was imported into Iraq as seed grain from Mexico and the United States. Due to a number of factors, including foreign-language labelling and late distribution within the growing cycle, this toxic grain was consumed as food by Iraqi residents in rural areas. People suffered from paresthesia (numbness of skin), ataxia (lack of coordination of muscle movements) and vision loss, symptoms similar to those seen when Minamata disease affected Japan. The recorded death toll was 459 people, but figures at least ten times greater have been suggested. The 1971 poisoning was the largest mercury poisoning disaster when it occurred, with cases peaking in January and February 1972 and stopping by the end of March.

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Mercury contamination in five owl species from Iran

2014

https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/6934299

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Bioaccumulation of Trace Mercury in Trophic Levels of Benthic, Benthopelagic, Pelagic Fish Species, and Sea Birds from Arvand River, Iran

2013

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3844145/

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Spatial distribution and human health risk assessment of mercury in street dust resulting from various land-use in Ahvaz, Iran

2018

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28865066/

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Mercury Pollution in Three Species of Waders from Shadegan Wetlands at the Head of the Persian Gulf

2010

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00128-010-9933-z

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Mercury contamination in some marine biota species from Khuzestan shore, Persian Gulf

December 10, 2014

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0748233714555392

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Contamination of the Biosphere with Mercury: Another Potential Consequence of On-going Climate Manipulation Using Aerosolized Coal Fly Ash

2017

http://www.nuclearplanet.com/mercury.pdf

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Application of Mulberry nigra to absorb heavy metal, mercury, from the environment of green space city

2018

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750018302646

Highlights

•

The obtained results from the research suggest that aerial organs of Mulberry nigra have had significant difference for mercury accumulation in various concentrations.
•

According to the results, Mulberry nigra species, seems to be an appropriate species for refining soils contaminated by mercury.

•

    Mercury pollution is most pollution in soil of north of Iran in industrial park area.
•

    Studies in environment heavy metal pollution in soil of urban forestry in most important for human health.
•

    Mulbery nigra is a fast-growing species from medium to high trees, is resistant towards various soils and prefers visors to shade-friendly sites .In this research it was studied that how much a Mulbery nigra could absorb the mercury from the environment.

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Concentrations of Mercury, Lead, Chromium, Cadmium, Arsenic and Aluminum in Irrigation Water Wells and Wastewaters Used for Agriculture in Mashhad, Northeastern Iran

2013

https://www.theijoem.com/ijoem/index.php/ijoem/article/viewArticle/200/360

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The Effects of Industrial Wastewater on Groundwater Quality of the Boroujen Aquifer, Southwest Iran

April 2020

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11053-020-09665-9

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Removing Lead from Iranian Industrial Wastewater

https://www.scipress.com/ILNS.57.79

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Evaluation of the quality of the sewage and waste selected hospitals of Rasht and Tehran

2019

https://medcraveonline.com/JMEN/JMEN-07-00242.pdf

AbstractIntroduction and objectives: Hospital wastewaters are loaded with pathogenic micro-organisms, laboratories and pharmaceutical remaining, pharmacy part of metabolized, radioactive elements and other toxic chemical Products, so for wastewater treatment and excretion conditions of have particular importance, Aim of this study is Evaluation of the quality of the sewage and waste selected hospitals of Rasht and Tehran. Materials and method: Cross-sectional method was performed in 2014. In addition to the 3 several part of specialized hospitals were chosen. In order to confirmed of hospitals wastewaters, composite sampling were conducted from waste and waste points of selection hospitals wastewater plant to assessment from Chemical Oxygen Demand(COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Electrical conductivity (EC), pH, Phosphate (PO4), Fical coliform (Fecal coli), Total Coliform (T. Coli) and Total Detergents (ABS). Results: The results showed that examined indicators in waste of total hospitals have decrease after that influent, TSS, PO4, pH, ABS, T.Coli. and Fecal Coliform at all hospitals were less than standard level. BOD and COD value was exceeded the standard restriction alone in waste of Rasol Akram hospital in Rasht, Iran, While the electrical conductivity were measured higher than standard level in the 22 Aban and Rasol Akram hospitals.

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Sludge quality in wastewater treatment plant in Shokohieh industrial Park of Qom province in Iran

2018

http://www.ijhse.ir/index.php/IJHSE/article/view/289

Abstract

The general attitude of the wastewater treatment process in our country is focus on the effluent quality and unfortunately waste sludge quality is rarely considered. Since multiple natural hazards and routes the contact with sludge requires a comprehensive approach to protect public health and the environment. The aim of this study is an assessment of sludge management and finding out the potential use of sludge for land application. The study was conducted in January to December 2014. samples were gathered in four seasons, winter, spring, summer and autumn from wastewater treatment plant in industrial park of Shokohieh of Qom province according to the instructions in standard method. Sampling was moments and composite. Numbers of Samples were 24 that 2 samples were captured in every month. Samples measured base on standard method for water wastewater examination references and then data was analyzed by SPSS and t-test. The results show that the Physical Parameters qualities and nutrients qualities in sludge are good. The Phosphate quality is not suitable. Based on t-test, the results show that levels of fecal coliform and total coliform in cold and warm seasons are different (P <0.001). This study showed that sludge ranked in Class B (EPA standard). The results of this study indicate that relationship between levels of parasite eggs and fecal coliforms is the best (pearson coefficient=0.995). The correlation coefficient levels of parasite eggs and total coliforms are 0.969. The mean values of elements are upper than the EPA standards, except lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and zinc. This study shows that sludge ranked in Class B therefore is not suitable for various uses of sludge as: grass, playgrounds, for other uses, such as farmland and forest. Sludge has high levels of toxic metals, which are inapplicable due to the accumulative property.

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Occurrence of Acanthamoeba Genotypes in Wastewater Samples in Tehran, Iran

2017

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5756301/

Abstract

Background:

Acanthamoeba spp. is potentially pathogenic free-living amoeba that can exist in various water sources. The presence of this amoeba in water sources could be a health hazard as Acanthamoeba could lead to severe diseases such as Acanthamoeba keratitis and encephalitis. This study aimed to determine the genotypes of isolated Acanthamoeba spp. in raw wastewater samples in Tehran, Iran.
Methods:

Overall, 90 raw wastewater samples were collected from water treatment facilities in west and south of Tehran, Iran during 2014–2016. Water samples were filtered and cultured on non-nutrient agar (NNA) medium enriched with Escherichia coli. Morphological and molecular analyses were done on positive strains. The pathogenic ability of the isolated strains was determined using physical assays.
Results:

Totally, 6 out of 90 (6.7%) samples were positive for Acanthamoeba, according to morphological characteristics of double-walled cysts. Genotyping and sequencing of the positive strains showed Acanthamoeba belonging to T4 (83%) and T11 (17%) genotypes. In vitro pathogenicity tests were revealed that five isolates were classified as non-pathogenic strains and one strain belonging to T4 genotype was classified as the highly pathogenic amoebae.
Conclusion:

The current research reflected a low contamination of wastewater sources to Acanthamoeba. More studies regarding the contamination of wastewaters before and after treatment are required in different places of the country.

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A systematic review on status of lead pollution and toxicity in Iran; Guidance for preventive measures

2012

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.465.3912&rep=rep1&type=pdf

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Iran’s Environment: Greater Threat than Foreign Foes

October 28, 2013

https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2013/oct/28/iran%E2%80%99s-environment-greater-threat-foreign-foes

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Organophosphorous Pesticides in Surface Water of Iran

2012

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22349309/

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Plant Diversity of Saline Wetlands and Salt Marshes of Iran

https://moam.info/plant-diversity-of-saline-wetlands-and-salt-marshes-of-iran_5a0ca44c1723dd59dba6b8af.html

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Detecting saline and sweet underground water by geoelectric method and preventing mixing them (case study: Zahkolat District, Roodbar, Kerman)

2019

http://ejobios.org/article/detecting-saline-and-sweet-underground-water-by-geoelectric-method-and-preventing-mixing-them-case-6228

Abstract

Identification of low or high soluble layers is among the applications of geophysical science, in addition to determining the depth and amount of water, as well as checking the path of the hydrous layer and the genus of the layers of the earth. In order to study the characteristics of groundwater such as depth, thickness and area of aquifer and determining the layers of sweet water and saline water and their salts and their separation, a hydrologic survey was conducted in the area of a well in the Roodbar city of southern Kerman province (Zahhkolt region). Also in this research, areas with high discharge potential are determined based on geophysical data. Hydrology studies were conducted to determine the complexity of the aquifer, to determine the depth and thickness of the hydrous layer, to determine the boundary of saline and sweet water, and to determine suitable sites for drilling wells. By determining the surface and deep salty water layer, a solution was necessary to isolate the salty water layer surface to prevent penetration into the deep-water layer and the maximum depth of drilling for freshwater extraction was determined.

----------------------------

Macroinvertebrates of the Iranian running waters: a review

2015

https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2179-975X2015000400356

Abstract

A comprehensive review of macroinvertebrate studies conducted along the Iranian running waters over the last 15 years has been made by providing the most updated checklist of the Iranian running waters benthic invertebrates. Running waters ecosystems are complex environments known for their importance in terms of biodiversity. As part of the analysis, we endeavored to provide the critical re-identification of the reported species by through comparisons with the database of the Animal Diversity Web (ADW) and appropriate literature sources or expert knowledge. A total of 126 species belonging to 4 phyla have been compiled from 57 references. The phylum Arthropoda was found to comprise the most taxa (n = 104) followed by Mollusca, Annelida and Platyhelminthes. Ongoing efforts in the Iranian running waters regarding biomonitoring indices development, testing, refinement and validation are yet to be employed in streams and rivers. Overall, we suggest that future macroinvertebrate studies in Iranian running waters should be focused on long-term changes by broadening target species and strong efforts to publish data in peer-reviewed journals in English.

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Caspian Sea Water Transfer Plan Carries Enormous Ecological Risk

March 05, 2019

https://financialtribune.com/articles/environment/97025/caspian-sea-water-transfer-plan-carries-enormous-ecological-risk

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Iranian sewage adds to Caspian Sea pollution

November 21, 2011

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15820511

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Iran Tackles Pollution in the Caspian Sea

September 13, 2013

https://africamideast.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/iran-tackles-pollution-in-the-caspian-sea/

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Iran Likely to Sue Azerbaijan for Polluting Caspian Sea

01/28/13

http://www.payvand.com/news/13/jan/1243.html

Deputy Head of Iran's Environmental Protection in Marine Environment Abdol-Reza Karbasi warned on Sunday that Tehran will lodge a complaint with international courts against Baku if British Petroleum (BP), which is in charge of Azerbaijan's oil exploration, continues polluting the Caspian Sea.

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Caspian Sea: Five countries sign deal to end dispute

August 2018

Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan - all bordering the Caspian Sea - have agreed in principle on how to divide it up.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45162282

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Human Impact on Rivers and Fish in the Ponto-Caspian Basin - B. Fashchevsky

https://www.fao.org/3/ad525e/ad525e0d.htm

----------------------------

Distribution of linear alkylbenzenes as a domestic sewage molecular marker in surface sediments of International Anzali Wetland in the southwest of the Caspian Sea, Iran

15 May 2018

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-018-1942-1

----------------------------

Nuclear Pollution in the Caspian Sea: Introduction of several studies

6/11/03

http://www.payvand.com/news/03/jun/1061.html

----------------------------

Water Pollution in the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf) - Article Example

It was during the year 1991, when an oil spill massacre occurred in the region of Arabian Gulf causing massive environmental pollution and degradation of the entire eco system in the location. …

https://studentshare.org/geography/1487209-water-pollution-in-the-arabian-gulf-persian-gulf

----------------------------

The World’s 25 Largest Lakes, Side by Side

February 23, 2019

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-25-largest-lakes/

----------------------------

The looming death of Lake Uromiyeh – and what it means for Iran

Oct 28, 2013

The slow death of Lake Uromiyeh signals a warning for the future. Recently, at a meeting in New York, President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged Iran’s water problems by specifically mentioning this lake in northwestern Iran which was once also the world’s largest saltwater lake.

The lake is drying up at an alarming rate. The essential problem is that a range of users regularly extract water from the basin that feeds the lake. That outflow has vastly exceeded the inflow in recent years. Add to this a recent drought, and, as a result, the water levels keep declining.

The lake has a celebrated status. It is a national park, a Ramsar wetland site, and a UNESCO biosphere reserve. But vast tracts of its surface now have no water. But the problem is spreading. The salt bed has dried up and salt particles are being blown around to adjacent crop lands. This will gradually increase soil salinity and contribute to making the agriculture of this basin unsustainable. The situation in Lake Uromiyeh is not unique in Iran – or even the region.

(Bleak and austere: a boat lies rusting and stranded in its waterless mooring on the salty flats of Lake Uromiyeh. Shallow water and high salinity may accelerate the death of the lake even sooner than expected).

https://www.ir.undp.org/content/iran/en/home/presscenter/articles/2013/10/28/the-looming-death-of-lake-uromiyeh-and-what-it-means-for-iran-.html

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Climate change brings cyclone risk to Persian Gulf, study warns

Sep 2015

Shallow and warm waters of the Persian Gulf, where cyclones have never been recorded, might generate future storms that threaten cities such as Dubai

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/01/climate-change-brings-cyclone-risk-to-persian-gulf-study-warns

----------------------------

The Effects of Oil Spills on Ecosystem at the Persian Gulf

December 2015

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286060949_The_Effects_of_Oil_Spills_on_Ecosystem_at_the_Persian_Gulf

----------------------------

Status of Oil Pollution in the Arabian Gulf and Shatt Al-Arab Estuary: A Review

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-90-481-3002-3_3

----------------------------

Iran demands South Korea tanker pay 'pollution' fines

Jan. 5, 2021

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2021/01/05/Iran-demands-South-Korea-tanker-pay-pollution-fines/161160985514

----------------------------

Syrians face toxic time-bomb of radiation, poison and pollution

February 21, 2017

Campaigners say Syria has been sullied by war, as cocktail of cancer-causing and radioactive chemicals leech into the ground and fill the air

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syrians-face-toxic-time-bomb-radiation-poison-and-pollution

----------------------------

How Four Women Destroyed 1,200 Tons of Poison Gas — and Defused a Crisis

February 27, 2022

They had nine months to destroy 1,200 tons of Syria’s chemical weapons. How four unheralded women did the impossible, helping to avert a global showdown and saving untold lives

https://headtopics.com/us/how-four-women-destroyed-1-200-tons-of-poison-gas-and-defused-a-crisis-24349381

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The role of radon in drinking water pollution in Bukan (North West Iran)

2017

https://medcraveonline.com/MSEIJ/MSEIJ-02-00066.pdf

----------------------------

SANDSTORMS IN IRAQ - SPREADING RADIOACTIVE POISON TO EVERY CIVILIAN

https://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n2063.cfm

----------------------------

Iraq studying new plan on where to bury radioactive waste, says official

2015

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2015/07/18/Iraq-studying-new-plan-on-where-to-bury-radioactive-waste-says-official

----------------------------

UN committee approves Iran's resolution on dust pollution

Dec 3, 2016

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/121720/UN-committee-approves-Iran-s-resolution-on-dust-pollution

----------------------------

Spatial Distribution and Contamination of Heavy Metals in Street Dust from Hamedan, Iran

2020

https://biomedres.us/pdfs/BJSTR.MS.ID.004882.pdf

Abstract

In the Anthropocene, researchers are to pay special attention to heavy metal pollu-tion associated with urban dust particles, amid overwhelming concerns that heavy met-als might exert considerable impacts on ecosystem and human health. In this research, 60 street dust samples were taken from five different urban locations namely high, and low traffic streets, parks, residential, and industrial areas of Hamedan, Iran, as well as background city soils. The samples were analyzed for Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn, Cr and Co, using the atomic absorption spectrophotometric technique and ICP MS. Data showed that mean values for Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn, Cr, and Co in the dust samples were 189.9, 63.8, 63.0, 378.5, 33.0, and 19.8 mg Kg-1, respectively. The street dust samples were found to contain signif-icant levels of Cu, compared to the background; however, their geo-accumulation indices (Igeo) suggested them to be uncontaminated with Zn, Pb, Mn, Cr and Co, and moderately contaminated with Cu. The Igeo values were in the following order: Cu >Pb, Zn>Mn>Cr>-Co. The enrichment factor (EF) was estimated for all studied heavy metals by using Mn as the reference element. Except from Cu, the mean values of EF were less than 2 for other heavy metals. The values of EF were in the following order: Cu> Zn, Pb> Cr and Co. The pollution index (PI) suggested that dust particles were uncontaminated with Mn, Cr, and Co; moderately contaminated with Zn and Pb; but contaminated with Cu. The values of PI were in the following order: Cu > Zn >Pb>Mn> Cr and Co.

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Deadly Tsunami and the negative impact on Iran border regions (Case study: Ahvaz, Iran)

2014

http://jnasci.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/719-723.pdf

Dust or tiny pollen is the mass of fine solid particles of dust and smoke, etc spreads in the atmosphere limiting the horizon vision within 1 to 2 km. Dust is considered, in the environmental classification, as some type of air pollution. The present studytries to analyze the impacts of electromagnetic fields on tiny pollens; and finally, provides some recommendations of designing a system to suppress dust particles. Studying dust material showed that the material is normally combined of aluminosilicates, silicates, sulfate as well as carbonate minerals. Thus, some computations were carried out for such particles which revealed that electromagnetic radiation can reduce dust level through the two adsorption and desorption mechanisms. (Asiliyan, 2007) Iran as compared to world arid regions is situated on the arid belt with an area of 64.4% dry and ultra dry climate, 3.3 times more than world percentage. Increasing temperature causes turbulence and wind in lower layers of atmosphere. Assuming wind speed maybe higher than the speed of soil separation threshold or erosion threshold; then, considerable amount of soil particles will be detached entering in to atmosphere as dust. (Beigi, 2009) Economic downturn and deadlocks in Khuzestan, Iran, due to bad weather conditions and serious atmospheric changes including dust, have largely influenced on country economy and descended the economy pulse. This study attempted to provide appropriate strategies in preventing drought and dust sources adverse effects in order to improve public health by finding the causes and analyzing satellite images during the last two years. (Amini zaree, 2010).

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Dusty Air Pollution is Associated with an Increased Risk of Allergic Diseases in Southwestern Part of Iran

Dec 2014

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25148797/

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Heavy metal contamination and distribution in the Shiraz industrial complex zone soil, South Shiraz, Iran.

2009

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Heavy-metal-contamination-and-distribution-in-the-Shakeri-Moore/fa224287a7694b02c859689f3bc16a03c58f92a2

Concentrations of heavy metals (As, Co, Cu, Ni, Mo, Pb and Zn) are studied in the soil of Shiraz industrial complex zone, south Shiraz, Iran to asses metal contamination due to industrialization, urbanization and agricultural activity. Soil samples were collected from three different depths. The A and C depths are enriched with metals such as Ni, As, Mo, Cu, Pb and Zn, compared with the B depth. The average abundance order of heavy metal contents in soil depth are: Ni>Zn>Cu>Co>Pb>As>Mo. Soil contamination is assessed on the basis of contamination factor (CF) and modified degree of contamination (mC ). The CF and mC base of dd background values in the three sampled depths for Cu, Zn, Co, Ni, Mo and As are moderate. Pb reveals considerable contamination. The results of enrichment factor (EF) show that using Sc concentration in the average shale produces higher average EF values for Ni, Co and Mo as compared to average values determined using the actual Sc content in lower core baseline values (background). The results of the principal component analysis (PCA) show Zn, Co, Ni, Sc, Cu, Al and Fe come from a similar source and are not influenced by anthropogenic sources. High loading of Zn, Co, Cu and Ni with clay, Al and Fe indicate the active role played by Al and Fe hydroxides and clay content on distribution and sorption of the studied heavy metals in soil. Also, PCA results indicate that As, Mo and Pb behave differently at different depths.

----------------------------

Pollution and contamination assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of Jazmurian playa in southeast Iran

March 16, 2020

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-61838-x

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Metal pollution assessment in surface sediments of Namak Lake, Iran.

https://medworm.com/812624392/metal-pollution-assessment-in-surface-sediments-of-namak-lake-iran/

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Mapping of weathering, erosion and morphogenetic zones of Namak lake basin of Iran by Peltier's graphs

https://www.imedpub.com/articles/mapping-of-weathering-erosion-and-morphogenetic-zones-of-namak-lake-basin-of-iran-by-peltiers-graphs.php?aid=14728

---------------------------

Comparison of the Metal Concentrations in the Feathers of Three Bird Species from Southern Iran

August 30th, 2012

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00128-012-0798-1

----------------------------

Assessing some heavy metals pollutions in sediments of the northern Persian Gulf (Bushehr province)

2018

http://ehemj.com/article-1-367-fa.pdf

----------------------------

Detecting of heavy metal pollution in steel factory environment health of the North of Iran

August 2016

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1872203216300208

----------------------------

Armenia should be more responsible for polluting Aras River

November 23, 2019

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/442262/Armenia-should-be-more-responsible-for-polluting-Aras-River

Stretching to 1,072 kilometers, Aras River is one of the largest rivers in the Caucasus, and one of the most important rivers in Iran which besides attracting tourism and positive ecosystem effects, has important potential for fishing.

The river has become a source of pollution posing threats to people’s lives residing northwestern part of the country due to the flow of heavy metals out of the Armenian factories over the past decade.

This is while, Iranian authorities are avoiding to file a complaint for the sake of maintaining good bilateral ties. However, the issue should be tackled whether by agreements between the two countries or international interference.

Heavy metals flowing into Aras River

An agricultural researcher, Ahmad Baybordi, told IRNA on Saturday that there are remnants of heavy metals in the river without a doubt.

Citing over a decade of Aras water pollution as a result of the wastewater inflow from Armenia, he said that the University of Medical Sciences asked me to conduct a water and sediment monitoring study at the Aras River 4 years ago.

The University of Tabriz and the Ministry of Agriculture research center at that time discovered the contamination of Aras River with heavy metals based on the analysis of monitoring carried out, he said.

He went on to lament that while the Ardabil provincial water company had also conducted monitoring over water, soil and aquatic species in the river, and the results showed that the river was contaminated with heavy metals.

Pointing out that conservatism is not allowed when it comes to public health, he added that Aras contamination is a scientific and environmental issue that must be scientifically investigated and declared.

Last year, we started a project with university students residing in a village on the outskirts of Aras to monitor water and sediment in the river, he noted, adding, the project was carried out in two areas before Nordoz (as pollution-free areas) and after Nordoz (as polluted areas) and the findings showed the heavy metal contamination.

Aluminum, copper, iron and arsenic have been found in the river which were 10 times the safe limits, he regretted.

He further said that I have closely watched the activity of Armenian factories, adding “I would definitely say that the industrial effluent flows into Aras and the color of water is turning green because of the high concentration of heavy metal.

----------------------------

Iran: Tap water pollution in 8 districts in Tehran

https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-tap-water-pollution-in-8-districts-in-tehran/

NCRI – On Thursday, December 4, a council member of Tehran said that in 8 districts of this city tap water is polluted and undrinkable.

The health minister retorted that there is no problem with the water in Tehran.

Rahmatollah Hafezi, council member of Tehran, said in an interview with the official news agency ISNA: “Analyses of samples taken in September in Tehran show that in 8 districts tap water is polluted.”

He added: “The evidence of water pollution in Tehran was sent to an official control agency and the Minister of Health was informed of this case.”

Following the publication of this council member’s statement, Hassan Hashemi – the health minister in the government of Mullah Rouhani – denied the reports and complained about the media coverage of the case.

However, the minister acknowledged that the water pumped from aquifers contains “some impurities, especially nitrate”.

----------------------------

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in drinking water of Tehran, Iran

2013

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4176311/

Abstract

Distribution and seasonal variation of sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in the drinking water of Tehran, the capital of Iran. Detected single and total PAHs concentrations were in the range of 2.01-38.96 and 32.45-733.10 ng/L, respectively, which were quite high compared to the values recorded in other areas of the world. The average occurrence of PAHs with high molecular weights was 79.55%; for example, chrysene occurred in 60.6% of the samples, with a maximum concentration of 438.96 ng/L. In addition, mean carcinogen to non-carcinogen PAHs ratio was 63.84. Although the concentration of benzo[a]pyrene, as an indicator of water pollution to PAHs, was lower than the guideline value proposed by World Health Organization (WHO) as well as that of Iranian National Drinking Water Standards for all of the samples, the obtained results indicated that carcinogen PAHs present in the drinking water of Tehran can cause threats to human health.

----------------------------

Health risk assessments of arsenic and toxic heavy metal exposure in drinking water in northeast Iran

September 14, 2020

https://environhealthprevmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12199-019-0812-x

----------------------------

Fluoride pollution in soils and waters of Koohbanan region, southeastern Iran

April 14, 2011

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12517-011-0336-1

----------------------------

Correlation between mosquito larval density and their habitat physicochemical characteristics in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran

August 18, 2017

https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0005835

Abstract

Characteristics of mosquito larval habitats are important in determining whether they can survive and successfully complete their developmental stages. Therefore, data on the ecological factors affecting mosquito density and abundance especially the physicochemical properties of water of their breeding sites, can possibly be helpful in implementing larval management programs. Mosquito larvae were collected using a standard 350 ml dipper from fixed habitats including: artificial pool, river edge, creek and etc, in 30 villages of 16 counties from May-December 2014. Water samples were collected during larval collection and temperature (°C), acidity (pH), turbidity (NTU), electrical conductivity (μS/cm), alkalinity (mg/l CaCO₃), total hardness (mg/l), nitrate (mg/l), chloride (mg/l), phosphate (mg/l) and sulphate (mg/l) were measured using standard methods. Spearman correlation coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis test of nonparametric analysis, Chi-square (χ²) analysis, regression analysis and C₈ interspecific correlation coefficient were used for data analysis. A total of 7,566 mosquito larvae belonging to 15 species representing three genera were collected from fixed larval breeding places. Culex pipiens was the dominant species except in four villages where An. maculipennis s.l. and Cx. torrentium were predominant. There was a significant positive correlation between the density of Cx. pipiens and electrical conductivity, alkalinity, total hardness and chloride, whereas no significant negative correlation was observed between physicochemical factors and larval density. The highest interspecific association of up to 0.596 was observed between An. maculipennis s.l/An. pseudopictus followed by up to 0.435 between An. maculipennis s.l/An. hyrcanus and An. hyrcanus/An. pseudopictus. The correlations observed between physicochemical factors and larval density, can possibly confirm the effect of these parameters on the breeding activities of mosquitoes, and may be indicative of the presence of certain mosquito fauna in a given region.

----------------------------

The future of extreme climate in Iran

Feb 6, 2019

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6365571/

----------------------------

Human impact on the hydroenvironment of Lake Parishan, SW Iran, through the late-Holocene

July 9, 2015

Abstract

A multiproxy record from Lake Parishan, SW Iran, shows human impact on the lake and its catchment over the last 4000 years. The Parishan record provides evidence of changes in lake hydrology, from ostracod, diatom and isotope analyses, that are directly linked to human activity in the catchment; recorded by pollen and charcoal and supported by regional archaeological and historical data. The lake ostracod fauna is particularly sensitive to human-induced catchment alterations and allows us to identify changes in catchment hydrology that are due to more than a simple change in precipitation: evaporation state. Oxygen isotope data from endogenic carbonates follow these faunal changes but also display a longer trend to more positive values through the period, coincident with regional patterns of water balance for the late-Holocene in the eastern Mediterranean.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0959683615594242

----------------------------

Water management in Iran: What is causing the looming crisis

December 2014

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264936452_Water_management_in_Iran_What_is_causing_the_looming_crisis

----------------------------

Quality and fluctuations of groundwater level at the humid margin of Damghan Haj Aligholi desert

January 2014

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263740425_Quality_and_fluctuations_of_groundwater_level_at_the_humid_margin_of_Damghan_Haj_Aligholi_desert

----------------------------

Studies of Water Arsenic and Boron Pollutants and Algae Phytoremediation in Three Springs, Iran

2012

http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.ije.20120203.01.html

Abstract

Today drinking water quality, water pollutant and cleaning water are important topics in applied hydrology. Algae play an important role in controlling metal concentration in lakes and oceans. Their ability to absorption metals and taking up toxic elements from the environment has been recognized for many years. The study is examination of the possible extent of Arsenic and Boron algae phytoremediation in three springs from Sang-E-Noghreh area, Iran, by calculating bio-concentration and bio-accumulation factors in them. Water samples from the sites were separately collected for microscopy, ICP/MS analyzing and graphitic oven. Algae were identified and counted using available equipment and references. Data analyzed and bio-concentration (BCF) and bio-accumulation factors (BAF) were calculated for Boron and Arsenic. Results showed four algal divisions (Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta, Euglenophyta and Heterokontophyta) in all of sample sites waters with the exception of Gargab that lacked Euglenophyta. Boron and Arsenic BAF were higher than 10 in all three sites. It is believed that algal flora of three springs have absorbed and accumulated these elements from their environment into their bodies. Then these algae can be hyper-phytoremediator and their presence in water reduced water Arsenic and Boron pollutant.

----------------------------

Herbicides and insecticides effects on green algae and cyanobacteria strain

1999

Piri, M. and Ördog, V. (1999) Herbicides and insecticides effects on green algae and cyanobacteria strain. Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences, 1(1), pp. 47-58.

http://aquaticcommons.org/22215/

---------------------------

Growing algae bloom in Arabian Sea tied to climate change

March 2017

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1068721/middle-east

---------------------------

Water crisis in Iran could bring ecological disaster

Oct. 5, 2020

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Voices/2020/10/05/Water-crisis-in-Iran-could-bring-ecological-disaster/8821601900601/

---------------------------

New water pollution protests hit southwest Iran

July 2, 2018

https://www.macaubusiness.com/new-water-pollution-protests-hit-southwest-iran/

---------------------------

Iran's severe water shortage may lead to rationing

January 31, 2014

https://www.foxnews.com/world/irans-severe-water-shortage-may-lead-to-rationing

----------------------------

Iran water: What's causing the shortages?

2 August 2021

https://www.bbc.com/news/58012290

----------------------------

Explainer: Iran's "Water Bankruptcy"

December 5, 2021

In mid-July 2021, a water shortage sparked protests in the southwest province of Khuzestan that then spread to other provinces over the next weeks. How has water escalated as a national issue? What are the long-term political implications?

Water is intrinsically connected to national security in Iran and the rest of the Middle East. First, water is important for agriculture, especially because Iran cannot meet its own food needs without imports. Since the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic has prioritized food self-sufficiency, a goal even enshrined in the constitution. Second, some of the most vulnerable groups in society, such as subsistence farmers, are vitally dependent on water for their livelihood. When water is scarce, they don’t have work...

https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2021/dec/05/explainer-irans-water-bankruptcy

----------------------------

Iran, Iraq exchange accusations over water flow

January 25, 2022

Iraq is planning to complain to the International Court of Justice about the drop in water flow from Iran.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/01/iran-iraq-exchange-accusations-over-water-flow

----------------------------

Iraq blames Iran for water pollution

Jan 15, 2011

Iraq is building a 40km embankment along its southern frontier with Iran to keep polluted runoff from poisoning its rivers and groundwater, and destroying farmland.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/iraq-blames-iran-for-water-pollution-1.377318

----------------------------

Iran warns Armenia to halt Araz River pollution

31 May 2021

https://www.azernews.az/nation/179555.html

----------------------------

Irrigation in Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrigation_in_Iran

Project to transfer Caspian Sea water to central regions

According to the plan, water will be transferred from Sari to the city of Semnan within 24 months (starting April 2012). The plan aims to provide central provinces with water for industrial and agricultural purposes at a cost of $1.5 billion. Once the plan comes on stream, some 500 million cubic meters of water will be transferred per annum. After desalination at the point of origin in the Caspian sea, it will be transported through a 500-kilometer-long (300 mi) pipeline to the central Kavir desert, bringing about 200 million cubic meters (7,062 cubic feet) of water per year.

Nearly 14 percent Iran's territory is desert and suffers from prolonged droughts.

The Caspian Sea is shared by Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Its salinity is about a third of that of sea water.

More ambitious projects have been envisaged or proposed in recent years, such as transferring water by digging a canal between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.[citation needed]

----------------------------

Iran: decades of unsustainable water use has dried up lakes and caused environmental destruction

August 3, 2020

https://news.yahoo.com/iran-decades-unsustainable-water-dried-155100382.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8_cT1pcmFuK3NhbGluaXR5JnQ9aF8maWE9d2Vi&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAF8QZgyggp6R53IgR_4g8j1zODt0WuuVJ-PRJjY5y3mQF9OPa0LYcVjuPSVU3SrroBYk0_nopgG8HcDZRC4fu5A4BqemGCIHMOzL4B_LUUGDgD6JMu

Wi9onI77unPtganaZFJubUcClPUEKGn3ydPthhUZpMLLidDJgrate6sxH-

----------------------------

Iran’s Land Suitability for Agriculture

2017

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-08066-y

-------------------------------------------------

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Section 2: Forests, Wildlife & Climate

----------------------------

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Geography of Iran

Geographically, Iran is located in West Asia and borders the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman. Its mountains have helped to shape both the political and the economic history of the country for several centuries. The mountains enclose several broad basins, on which major agricultural and urban settlements are located. Until the 20th century, when major highways and railroads were constructed through the mountains to connect the population centers, these basins tended to be relatively isolated from one another.

Environmental concerns

Main article: Environmental issues in Iran

Natural hazards: periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast

Environment – current issues: air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate supplies of potable water in some areas; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste; urbanization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Iran#Climate

----------------------------

Myth vs. Fact: Geography of Iran

November 10, 2018

http://www.us-iran.org/resources/2018/11/10/myth-vs-fact-geography-of-iran

----------------------------

Iran Unrest Raises a Question: Is ‘Maximum Pressure’ Working?

November 18, 2019

Anti-government protests in Iran have left buses and banks burned, hundreds under arrest...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-19/iran-unrest-raises-a-question-is-maximum-pressure-working

----------------------------

What is behind these explosions and fires in Iran? Experts suggest some possible theories

July 2020

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-24/the-mysterious-explosions-that-keep-hitting-iran/12483494

----------------------------

Iran Suffers Heatwaves, Forest Fires and Sandstorms

7/31/16

https://www.newsweek.com/iran-suffers-heatwaves-forest-fires-and-sandstorms-485188

Iran is facing a series of environmental disasters this summer, including forest fires, record heat indexes in some provinces and sandstorms threatening the capital, Tehran.

Namak (Persian Salt) Lake in Qom province, which once measured 200,000 hectares, has completely dried up because of climate change, the ill-considered construction of tens of dams and depleted underground water resources.

According to Seyed Ahmad Shafie, deputy director of the office of environmental protection for Qom, four centers of dust and sand with a total area of 40,000 hectares have been identified in the former lake bed. "There is no village in a radius of 50 kilometers around the lake and all plant coverage of the land has been completely destroyed," he said.

According to Khoda Karam Jalali, a deputy minister and head of Iran's Forest, Range and Watershed Management Organization, policies that have deprived wetlands of an adequate share of water "have turned one million hectares of wetlands into centers of dust and haze."

The situation is especially acute in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan along the Afghan border.

There are ongoing efforts both at the national and international level to revive the Hamoun Lakes, trans-boundary wetlands on the Iran-Afghan border. The three lakes are linked and fed by water from Afghanistan's Helmand River. But a combination of drought, diversion of water for irrigation, construction of four reservoirs in Sistan-Baluchistan and dykes on the border has diverted water from the Hamouns.

The dried-up lakes create fine dust particles that are causing a serious public health crisis. The region's economy has also been devastated and thousands of villagers have fled their homes.

Low employment and severe poverty have led to more drug trafficking in the Hamoun region. The so-called "wind of 120 days" – a period of intense storms that start in the last month of spring and persists through the summer, has now extended to 160 days with higher velocity winds.

According to Alireza Khosravi, director of the Tourism and Cultural Heritage Center in the city of Zabol, in the past people would use the 120-days wind to power windmills and cool the air. However, the dried wetlands and river beds have turned the wind into sand storms. The wind that would cool the soil in the past "has turned the region into hell," Khosravi said.

The UN Environment Program has worked with Iran and Afghanistan to try to rehabilitate the Hamouns. According to Masoumeh Ebtekar, a vice president of Iran and head of its Environmental Protection Organization, authorities are revising irrigation methods and agricultural use of about 46,000 hectares of land in Sistan-Baluchistan to make farming more sustainable. Another UN organization, UNESCO, has designated the Hamoun lakes as a UNESCO biosphere reservoir.

Ebtekar says other measures are being considered including new studies to discern the origin of the dust and securing international support through diplomatic exchanges for rehabilitating the Hamouns. Ebtekar also plans to hold workshops with Afghanistan and called for greater coordination between different institutions and ministries in Iran to deal with the Hamoun crisis.

The sandstorms coincide with extremely high heat indexes in southwest Iran. In Bandar Mahshar, in Khuzistan province on the Persian Gulf, the heat index – combining temperature and humidity – rose above 140 degrees Farenheit on July 22.

Decades of poor water management, depleting underground water and policies of development that failed to consider the impact on the environment and ecosystems have taken a toll on Iran's environmental future.

As President Hassan Rouhani recently admitted at a conference of world mayors and city councils in Tehran, slowing down this catastrophic degradation which "was viewed by some people as a luxury is now an absolute necessity." Rouhani added that "sustainable development, if not accompanied with protection of the environment, will not guarantee the lives and well-being of people."

----------------------------

Efforts continue to control forest fires in southwestern Iran

July 2020

https://iranpress.com/content/23873

----------------------------

Iran - KhabarOnline – Interview on Forest Fires with Mr Peter Moore, FAO Forestry Officer

https://english.khabaronline.ir/news/192264/Iran-KhabarOnline-Interview-on-Forest-Fires-with-Mr-Peter

What are the principal causes of forests fires?

Globally, people are the cause of 90% of fires globally through a combination of poor practice, limited access to alternative approaches to fire, accidents, weak understanding of fire risk, machinery, negligence and carelessness. Natural fire causes are limited to lightning ignited fires.
Fires have been used by humans for millennia and play a critical role in many ecosystems. The use of fire for hunting, favouring preferred plants for food, fodder or fibre, clearing for agriculture and grazing, easing travel and controlling pests is well documented, historical and continues today. This is particularly the case in developing countries where people depend directly on forests and agriculture for their livelihood and food security.

----------------------------

Iran Forests: Iran Forests: green stillness

2017

https://triptopersia.com/about-iran/iran-forests

----------------------------

IRAN: The Forests of Zagros Are Burning. There Are No Helicopters to Put Out the Fires

June 3, 2020

https://irannewsupdate.com/news/general/iran-the-forests-of-zagros-are-burning-there-are-no-helicopters-to-put-out-the-fires/

----------------------------

Iran’s Zagros forests destroyed by fires, government indifference

6/18/2020

https://english.mojahedin.org/i/iran-forest-fires-20200618

----------------------------

Protect Iran's Zagros forests from wildfires

Aug 28, 2020

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6507/1066.full

----------------------------

Forests of Iranian Kurdistan under threat from fires

Aug 10, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zb5kdTEf74

-----------------------------

The forest fires in Iran that won’t stop burning

July 22, 2020

https://english.shabtabnews.com/2020/07/22/the-forest-fires-in-iran-that-wont-stop-burning/

----------------------------

Women fight forest fires with bare hands in at least 2,000 points in Iran

July 15, 2020

https://women.ncr-iran.org/2020/07/15/women-fight-forest-fires-with-bare-hands-in-at-least-2000-points-in-iran/

----------------------------

Forest fires engulf parts of western Syria

September 10, 2020

https://www.middleeasteye.net/video/forest-fires-engulf-parts-western-syria

----------------------------

Forest fires sweep mountainous region in southwest Iran

Jun 3, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV1l-HYYKPw

----------------------------

Plant and animal life (Iran)

https://www.britannica.com/place/Iran/Plant-and-animal-life

----------------------------

Forests of Iran

2014

A Treasure from the Past, a Hope for the Future

https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789400773707

----------------------------

Like the Amazon, Iran’s forests are at risk

2019

Deforestation is a serious, ongoing problem in the Islamic Republic. Between 1900 and 2012 the country’s forested area dropped from 19 million acres to 14.4 million. By 2015 the acreage was down to 10.7 million. For experts, Iran might not have any forest left 100 years from now. Both hardliners and pro-reform camps are committed to the environment, but sanctions and corruption have hampered action.

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Like-the-Amazon%2C-Iran%26rsquo%3Bs-forests-are-at-risk-47941.html

----------------------------

The significant deforestation trend in Iran during last 7 decades

2018

TEHRAN – According to the most recent data published by Forests, Range, and Watershed Management Organization, some 14.2 million hectares of Iran’s area is covered by forests compared to 19.5 million hectares in 1942, ISNA reported on Tuesday.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/422244/The-significant-deforestation-trend-in-Iran-during-last-7-decades

----------------------------

Forest losses and gains in Kurdistan province, western Iran: Where do we stand?

2017

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S111098231630028X

----------------------------

Deforestation statistics for Iran

https://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/archive/Iran.htm

Tree cover loss data for Iran

"Tree cover threshold" is used for defining the tree cover area. For example, 75% includes only areas with more than 75% tree cover, whereas 10% includes all areas with more than 10% tree cover. 75% tree cover reflects a dense canopy.

----------------------------

Iran’s Disappearing Forests Pose Environmental Challenge

September 4, 2019

While Western think tanks have drawn attention to droughts and floods in Iran, the news media has ignored another critical environmental issue there: deforestation. Between 1900 and 2012, Iran’s forest acreage decreased from 19 million acres to 14.4 million, shrinking to 10.7 million by 2015. That year, Esmail Kahrom, an advisor to the Iranian Environment Department, predicted, “With the current deforestation, Iran will have no forest in the next seventy-five to a hundred years.”

https://lobelog.com/irans-disappearing-forests-pose-environmental-challenge/

----------------------------

Endangered plants in Iran

07 July 2008

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2001.00043-3.x

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Priorities for conservation of endemic trees and shrubs of Iran: Important Plant Areas (IPAs) and Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) in SW Asia

June 2020

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2287884X18303637

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Early germination events – a personal perspective

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2001.00043-3.x

-------

Red data book of Iran : a preliminary survey of endemic, rare and endangered plant species of Iran

https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/26074

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Habitat and floristic peculiarities of an isolated mountain mire in the Hyrcanian region of northern Iran: a harbour for rare and endangered plants pecies

2019

http://mires-and-peat.net/media/map24/map_24_21.pdf

----------------------------

Chapter 4 - Estuaries and Coastal Zones in the Northern Persian Gulf (Iran)

2019

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128140031000046

----------------------------

Iran’s Hara forests, a key biosphere and protected wetland

6-28-2020

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/middleeast/top-stories/irans-hara-forests-a-key-biosphere-and-protected-wetland/ar-BB164pFS

TEHRAN – The Hara forests, covering an area of 27,310 hectares in southern Iran, is a key biodiversity site due to its remarkable Avicennia mangrove ecosystem.

The core area of the reserve is a marine zone. The major topographic features of the region include a wetland with a series of small islands (mud hills), mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and shallow coves.

Wetlands are ecosystems saturated with water, either seasonally or permanently. They store water and ensure its quality, providing resilience against drought. They play a central role in sustainable development by supplying all our freshwater.

----------------------------

Effects of forest harvesting on runoff and sediment characteristics in the Hyrcanian forests, northern Iran

2017

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10342-017-1038-3

Abstract

Loss of canopy cover by forest harvesting generally increases the average surface runoff volume and sediment. Selective cutting (single and group selection method) is the most usual forest harvesting method in the Hyrcanian forests in the north of Iran. The purpose of this study is to find the effect of selective logging technique on the hydrological behavior of runoff and sediment in the Kheyrud forests located in northern Iran over 1 year. Four treatments were implemented: natural forest without harvesting (C), forest with selective harvesting (H) and area without canopy cover (WC) and skid trail (S). Three types of data were measured in each plot including soil chemical and physical properties, runoff and sediment load after each rainfall. The results indicate significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in runoff generation and sediment production with respect to the treatments cover. The runoff in all treatments showed relatively similar response to rainfall, while the highest runoff and sediment were observed in skid trails, and the area without canopy cover (1.13 and 0.62 mm, and 1.2 and 0.51 g m−2), averagely. In contrast, the natural forest without harvesting and the forest with selective harvesting treatments exhibited the lowest amounts of runoff (0.2 and 0.44 mm) and sediment (0.1 and 0.17 g m−2), averagely. Implementation of low logging technique was useful to control the effects of logging on the runoff and sediment yield.

----------------------------

Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Hyrcanian_mixed_forests

-----------------------------

Iranian press review: Tehran weighs options against potential US snapback of UN sanctions

August 2020

Meanwhile, student activists warn about the role of intelligence services’ agents inside universities, and the prehistoric Hyrcanian forests face the threat of soil theft

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iranian-press-review-tehran-weighs-options-against-potential-us-snapback-un-sanctions

-----------------------------

Soil erosion in Iran: Issues and solutions

2015

http://www.meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2015/EGU2015-15840-1.pdf

------------------------------

Deforestation effects on soil erosion rates and soil physicochemical properties in Iran: a case study of using fallout radionuclides in a Chernobyl contaminated area

2021

https://soil.copernicus.org/preprints/soil-2021-2/soil-2021-2.pdf

------------------------------

Assessment of Soil Loss Using WEPP Model and Geographical Information System Information System

2011

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&context=josh

-----------------------------

Climate change and agriculture: Impacts and adaptive responses in Iran

2018

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311917617945

----------------------------

The Visible Effects of Climate Change in Iran

Apr 05, 2017

https://time.com/4713291/iran-climate-change/

The image from Lake Urmia is part of a series that Salemi has done on the effects of global warming on Iran, his home country. The work is supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and what Salemi captures is a crisis, albeit a slow-motion one unfolding in a country that is still a mystery for many Westerners. He shows a land wracked by repeated droughts, compounded by the effects of often unregulated agricultural and industrial growth, draining what little water an already arid Iran has to draw from. In another striking image, Salemi shows the Khara desert, near what was once the Gavkhouni wetland in central Iran. But the wetland has dried up, giving dominion over to the desert. “This is a big problem we are going to face in the future,” says Salemi...

----------------------------

Climate Change May Have Helped Spark Iran’s Protests

2018

One of Iran's biggest economic challenges has been a cycle of extreme droughts that began in the 1990s

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-change-may-have-helped-spark-iran-rsquo-s-protests/

----------------------------

Climate may have helped crumble one of the ancient world's most powerful civilizations

November 14, 2019

https://phys.org/news/2019-11-climate-crumble-ancient-world-powerful.html

New research suggests it was climate-related drought that built the foundation for the collapse of the Assyrian Empire (whose heartland was based in today's northern Iraq)—one of the most powerful civilizations in the ancient world. The Science Advances paper, led by Ashish Sinha at California State University, Dominguez Hills and coauthored by CIRES affiliate Adam Schneider, details how megadroughts in the 7th century BC triggered a decline in Assyria's way of life that contributed to its ultimate collapse.

Q: How did a culture this powerful collapse?

A: In the final decades of the Neo-Assyrian empire, the civilization was littered with political instability, civil wars, and invasion by outside armies. Our study shows that climate-related factors were underlying all of this.

The Assyrian empire was built during a time of heavy precipitation and successful harvests. But now we can tell, from climate records, that the civilization experienced a series of megadroughts that likely triggered the collapse of the empire—weakening agriculture and amplifying conflict. The impact of drought in this region was dependent on where the Assyrians were located in northern Iraq. The Tigris River is so deeply cut into the surrounding soil that you can't do large scale-irrigation there. That's why rainfall was so crucial to their lives. The Assyrians were much more vulnerable to the impacts of prolonged and severe drought than people downriver.

----------------------------

Climate change may be behind fall of ancient empire, say researchers

Nov 2019

Dramatic shift from wet to dry climate could have caused crop failure in Neo-Assyrian empire

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/nov/13/climate-change-may-be-behind-fall-of-ancient-empire-say-researchers

----------------------------

Water and Caves in Ancient Iranian Religion: Aspects of Archaeology, Cultural History and Religion

2012

https://www.academia.edu/1532432/Water_and_Caves_in_Ancient_Iranian_Religion_Aspects_of_Archaeology_Cultural_History_and_Religion

----------------------------

The Fire Temples Of Iran & Thousand-Year-Old Flames | Timeline

May 18, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NL9fXY1Xdc

----------------------------

An overview of climate change in Iran: facts and statistics

March 2019

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40068-019-0135-3

----------------------------

Climate of Iran

Is the Climate of Iran as Dry as You Think It Is?

https://www.thoughtco.com/climate-of-iran-120224

----------------------------

Did Israel steal Iran’s clouds? Tehran looks for source of ‘suspicious’ climate change

Jul 3, 2018

https://www.rt.com/news/431583-israel-iran-no-clouds/

----------------------------

Wildlife of Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_of_Iran

-----------

MAMMALS i. Mammals of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia

https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mammals-01-iran-afghanistan-ca

-----------

Wildlife & Nature

http://www.aitotours.com/aboutiran/20/wildlife---nature/default.aspx

-----------

Environmental and Wildlife Degradation in Iran

June 2018

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Environmental_and_Wildlife_Degradation_in_Iran1.pdf

-----------

List of national parks and protected areas of Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_and_protected_areas_of_Iran

-----------

FAO Alert: Desert Locusts Threaten Iran Crops

April 12, 2019

https://financialtribune.com/articles/domestic-economy/97407/fao-alert-desert-locusts-threaten-iran-crops

-----------

Iran Gears Up to Battle Desert Locusts

December 08, 2019

https://financialtribune.com/articles/domestic-economy/101113/iran-gears-up-to-battle-desert-locusts

-----------

Endangered Species Search By Area Selection (Iran)

http://www.earthsendangered.com/search-regions3.asp?mp=&search=1&sgroup=allgroups&ID=174

-----------

Extinction of wild animals of Iran because ruthless hunting !

2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REYycOxUPCk

-----------

Stop bothering dogs

May 19, 2016 — Yesterday in Gorgan city a colored dog was rescued by animal protectors!
This dog was colored with chemical powders by 2 psychopath man.
The National animals protection agency of Iran still did nothing about this.
Im really sorry for my people that enjoy bothering poor animals.
Please share this to people u know for helping these poor animals.

https://www.change.org/p/iranian-people-endangered-animals-in-iran/u/16644353

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Section 3: Iran & Global Terrorism

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Iran’s military activity strengthens al Qaeda in Syria

July 2, 2018

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/07/02/irans-military-activity-strengthens-al-qaeda-in-syria/

----------------------------

IAEA: Iran continues to expand stockpile of enriched uranium

04/09/2020

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/iaea-iran-continues-to-expand-stockpile-of-enriched-uranium/ar-BB18Ibxh

----------------------------

Iran blocking sites access, UN nuclear watchdog says

June 6, 2020

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52941982

----------------------------

IAEA inspects one of two sites in Iran after long stand-off

September 15, 2020

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-iaea-idUSKBN25V22H

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has let the U.N. nuclear watchdog inspect one of the two sites it agreed last week to grant access to after a protracted standoff, while Tehran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has risen further, quarterly reports by the agency said on Friday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency inspected one of the sites and took environmental samples there, one of the two reports obtained by Reuters said, referring to samples aimed at detecting traces of nuclear material that may have been present.

The agency’s inspectors will visit the other site “later in September 2020 on a date already agreed with Iran, to take environmental samples”, the report said.

The other report said that Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium (LEU) rose by 534 kg in the most recent quarter, roughly the same amount as in the previous three months, to 2,105.4 kg.

That is more than 10 times the 202.8 kg limit set by Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with big powers, which Iran has been breaching in response to Washington’s withdrawal from the deal in 2018 and reimposition of sanctions against Tehran.

The stockpile, however, remains far below the many tonnes of enriched uranium Iran had accumulated before the 2015 deal.

Tehran is enriching up to a fissile purity of 4.5%, which while above the deal’s 3.67% limit is still far short of the 20% level it achieved before the deal. Roughly 90% purity is considered weapons-grade, suitable for an atomic bomb.

Iran agreed on Aug. 26, during the first visit to Tehran by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, to allow access for U.N. inspectors to two sites suspected of once hosting covert uranium conversion and nuclear testing activities.

While the IAEA says it has the right to examine such sites without permission, Iran objected because at least some of the information about them came from a trove of documents on its past activities that Tehran’s main Middle East adversary, Israel, says it seized inside Iran.

----------------------------

Iran says it enriches uranium to 60% purity at Fordo site

November 22, 2022

Iran says it has begun producing enriched uranium at 60% purity at its underground Fordo nuclear plant

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-enriches-uranium-response-watchdog-order-93775228

----------------------------

‘Iran has 10 Times the Enriched Uranium Allowed by the JCPOA’

August 26, 2020

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/middle-east/iran-news/iran-has-10-times-the-enriched-uranium-allowed-by-the-jcpoa/2020/08/26/

----------------------------

‘Iran has 10 times enriched uranium allowed by JCPOA’

August 26, 2020

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi: “Natanz explosion was sabotage; Iranian nuclear program will recover in 14 months.”

https://www.jns.org/iran-has-10-times-the-enriched-uranium-allowed-by-the-jcpoa/

----------------------------

Iran enriched uranium stockpile almost eight times 2015 limit: UN

June 5, 2020

IAEA also expresses 'serious concern' at Iran's failure to provide access to two sites for months.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/iran-enriched-uranium-stockpile-times-2015-limit-200605161149055.html

----------------------------

Obama’s Final Gift: Uranium Headed To Iran

Jan 9, 2017

https://www.dailywire.com/news/obamas-final-gift-uranium-headed-iran-hank-berrien

Unsatisfied with stoking the fiery cauldrons of Islamic fundamentalism with his weak-kneed response during his eight-year tenure, Barack Obama has now enabled Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, to speed ever-closer toward successful attainment of nuclear weapons, approving a secret delivery of roughly 130 tons of uranium for the fundamentalist Iranian regime.

As AP reports, the move to send Iran the uranium from Russia is supposedly to curry favor with Iran so it will remain committed to the nuclear deal it negotiated with the West:

Iran is to receive a huge shipment of natural uranium from Russia to compensate it for exporting tons of reactor coolant, diplomats say, in a move approved by the outgoing U.S. administration and other governments seeking to keep Tehran committed to a landmark nuclear pact. Two senior diplomats said the transfer recently agreed by the U.S. and five other world powers that negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran foresees delivery of 116 metric tons (nearly 130 tons) of natural uranium. U.N. Security Council approval is needed but a formality, considering five of those powers are permanent Security Council members, they said.

----------------------------

Iran triples stockpile of enriched uranium in breach of nuclear deal

Mar 3, 2020

Watchdog says country may also be storing material at three undeclared sites

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/03/iran-triples-stockpile-of-enriched-uranium-in-breach-of-nuclear-deal

-----------------------------

Iran backing out of 2015 nuclear deal: will no longer limit enrichment of uranium

January 5, 2020

https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2020/01/05/iran-backing-out-of-2015-nuclear-deal-will-no-longer-limit-enrichment-of-uranium/

Іn іtѕ lаtеѕt mоvе ѕіnсе thе Unіtеd Ѕtаtеѕ аѕѕаѕѕіnаtеd thе hеаd оf іtѕ еlіtе Qudѕ Fоrсе, Іrаn hаѕ аnnоunсеd thаt іt wіll nо lоngеr hоnоr іtѕ 2015 nuсlеаr dеаl іn whісh, іt lіmіtѕ thе аmоunt оf еnrісhеd urаnіum.

Тhе аnnоunсеmеnt саmе tоdау, whісh соіnсіdеѕ wіth thе funеrаl оf Gеnеrаl Qаѕѕеm Ѕоlеіmаnі, аnd thе аnnоunсеmеnt оf thе gоvеrnmеnt оf Іrаq thаt іt wіll bе ехреllіng fоrеіgn trоорѕ frоm Іrаqі ѕоіl.

Іn а ѕtаtеmеnt rеlеаѕеd еаrlіеr, Іrаn ѕаіd, “Тhе Іѕlаmіс Rерublіс оf Іrаn wіll еnd іtѕ fіnаl lіmіtаtіоnѕ іn thе nuсlеаr dеаl, mеаnіng thе lіmіtаtіоn іn thе numbеr оf сеntrіfugеѕ. Тhеrеfоrе Іrаn’ѕ nuсlеаr рrоgrаm wіll hаvе nо lіmіtаtіоnѕ іn рrоduсtіоn іnсludіng еnrісhmеnt сарасіtу аnd реrсеntаgе аnd numbеr оf еnrісhеd urаnіum аnd rеѕеаrсh аnd ехраnѕіоn.”

Іt wеnt оn tо ѕау thаt thе соuntrу wоuld соntіnuе іtѕ соореrаtіоn wіth Іntеrnаtіоnаl Аtоmіс Аgеnсу (ІАА) аnd rеturn tо thе nuсlеаr dеаl іf thе ѕаnсtіоnѕ аgаіnѕt іt wеrе rеmоvеd аnd Іrаn’ѕ іntеrеѕtѕ wеrе guаrаntееd.

Fоllоwіng Ѕоlеіmаnі’ѕ аѕѕаѕѕіnаtіоn оn Frіdау, Іrаn’ѕ Ѕuрrеmе Lеаdеr, Аlі Ноѕѕеіnі Кhаmеnеі, wаrnеd thаt “а hаrѕh rеtаlіаtіоn іѕ wаіtіng.” UЅ Рrеѕіdеnt Dоnаld Тrumр ѕаіd thаt іf Іrаn rеtаlіаtеѕ, thе UЅ wіll аttасk ѕоmе 52 lосаtіоnѕ іn Іrаn.

https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2020/01/05/iran-backing-out-of-2015-nuclear-deal-will-no-longer-limit-enrichment-of-uranium/

----------------------------

Iran Opens Uranium Mines, Yellow Cake Plant on National Nuclear Day

Apr. 9, 2013

State news agency IRNA says uranium mines opened in central city of Yazd; Ahmadinejad says world powers cannot 'prevent Iran from going nuclear'.

https://www.haaretz.com/iran-opens-uranium-mines-yellow-cake-plant-1.5237470

----------------------------

Iran to cut dependence on Russia for maintenance of Bushehr nuclear plant

May 01, 2020

https://parstoday.com/en/news/iran-i120507-iran_to_cut_dependence_on_russia_for_maintenance_of_bushehr_nuclear_plant

----------------------------

Is The Iran Nuclear Deal Coming To An End?

Apr 2018

https://daily.energybulletin.org/2018/04/is-the-iran-nuclear-deal-coming-to-an-end/

----------------------------

Time to Kill the Zombie Iran Nuclear Deal at UN

August 19, 2020

https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/08/19/time-to-kill-the-zombie-iran-nuclear-deal-at-un/

----------------------------

United States moves to restore all UN sanctions on Iran in dispute over nuclear deal

Aug 21, 2020

https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-moves-to-restore-all-un-sanctions-on-iran-in-dispute-over-nuclear-deal-322025

----------------------------

Iran's nuclear negotiator says deal 'closer than ever'

17-02-2022

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said Wednesday that Iran and relevant countries are "closer than ever" to reaching an agreement to revive the 2015 nuclear deal at the ongoing Vienna talks.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/1926404-irans-nuclear-negotiator-says-deal-closer-than-ever

----------------------------

Analysis: Stakes rise as Iran can fuel ‘several’ atom bombs

January 26, 2023

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-iran-politics-government-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-6acdb64d36fcbe05b3ee725d8a585d96

----------------------------

When Will Iran Get Nuclear Weapons?

Aug 15, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_1VT-fQbTM

----------------------------

Iran: Nationwide protests call for overthrow of the regime

November 21, 2019

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/iran-nationwide-protests-call-overthrow-regime

It took the popular uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon, following the earlier uprisings in Sudan and Algeria this year, for the Iranian masses, especially unemployed and student youth, to gain the courage to go out into the streets in large numbers again. For the first time since the December 2017–January 2018 uprising, they are mobilising to call for an end to the Islamic Republic.

----------------------------

Iran's president calls for ban on weddings, wakes to halt virus spread

July 11, 2020

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/irans-president-calls-ban-weddings-110935143.html

----------------------------

World War 3 warning: Iran conflict '10-15 times worse' than Iraq, Thornberry claims

Jan 5, 2020

WORLD WAR 3 fears have exploded after the assassination of Iran's general Qassam Soleimani but Emily Thornberry insisted a conflict with Tehran could cause losses "10 to 15 times worse" than the war in Iraq.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1224181/World-War-3-warning-WW3-Iran-US-Qassam-Soleimani-Iraq-War-US-UK-Thornberry-latest

-----------------------------

An Iranian Attack On The U.S. Homeland May Already Be In The Works

January 6, 2020

https://www.memri.org/reports/iranian-attack-us-homeland-may-already-be-works

----------------------------

Iran Strikes Back at US With Missile Attack at Bases in Iraq

January 07, 2020

https://www.securityweek.com/iran-strikes-back-us-missile-attack-bases-iraq

----------------------------

Iran Says It Has Underground Missile Cities Along Southern Coasts

July 6, 2020

https://www.eurasiareview.com/06072020-iran-says-it-has-underground-missile-cities-along-southern-coasts/

----------------------------

US Braced for Cyber Retaliation from Iran

Jan 6, 2020

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/us-braced-for-cyber-retaliation/

----------------------------

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Chinese spy spills secrets to expose Communist espionage | 60 Minutes Australia

Nov 24, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdR-I35Ladk

-----------------------------

Iran Slams US Sanctions Following Cyber-Theft

Mar 27, 2018

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/iran-slams-us-sanctions-following/

Iran has hit back at US sanctions levied in response to alleged attacks on hundreds of global universities and a media company for financial gain.

The Mabna Institute is said to have stolen 31TB of IP and other valuable data from over 300 educational institutions in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Israel and elsewhere.

The US government claimed on Friday that the Iranian military effectively outsourced the hacking work to the Institute in order to help domestic universities and research organizations gain access to non-Iranian scientific resources.

“Iran is engaged in an ongoing campaign of malicious cyber activity against the United States and our allies. The IRGC outsourced cyber intrusions to The Mabna Institute, a hacker network that infiltrated hundreds of universities to steal sensitive data,” said US Treasury under secretary Sigal Mandelker.

The two founders of the Institute were among the 10 people indicted, meaning they could face extradition to the US if they travel outside of Iran and their assets are subject to seizure by the US authorities. The Institute itself was also placed under sanctions.

Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Bahram Quassemi, condemned the sanctions as provocative and illegal, according to the BBC.

----------------------------

Iran a more dangerous cyber threat than China or Russia, experts tell Congress

Apr 26, 2012

https://gcn.com/articles/2012/04/26/iran-dangerous-cyber-threat-house-hearing.aspx

Iran has demonstrated a willingness to attack the United States and the intent to develop a cyber war capability, eclipsing Russia and China as a threat to the nation, a panel of policy and technical experts told House lawmakers.

“Iran appears to be moving from defensive to offensive in the way it thinks about cyberspace,” said Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, in an April 26 hearing before joint subcommittees of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Berman called an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, uncovered in October, credible and said it is an example of the country’s willingness to carry out attacks on U.S. soil. He said it would be unreasonable to expect Iran could balk at a cyberattack against U.S. critical infrastructure.

----------------------------

Russia is opposed to a war between Iran and Israël

May 8, 2018

https://www.voltairenet.org/article201027.html

----------------------------

US Sanctions 11 Companies For Facilitating Sale Of Iranian Petrochemicals

Sep 3, 2020

https://iranintl.com/en/world/us-sanctions-11-companies-facilitating-sale-iranian-petrochemicals

----------------------------

Iran Is Working Hard to Revive Anti-U.S. Operations in Latin America

June 1, 2020

Reactivating old alliances in America’s soft underbelly is not as easy as it seems.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/01/iran-venezuela-alliances-latin-america/

----------------------------

Iran and Venezuela Energy Cooperation

May 4, 2022

https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/04/iran-and-venezuela-energy-cooperation/

----------------------------

Venezuela’s sending its gold reserves to Iran: This is where socialism leads

May 3, 2020

https://nypost.com/2020/05/03/venezuelas-sending-its-gold-reserves-to-iran-where-socialism-leads/

----------------------------

Iran Has Embedded Terrorists Inside The United States And Latin America

January 7, 2020

https://medium.com/the-right-side-of-history-of-national-security/iran-has-embedded-terrorists-inside-the-united-states-and-latin-america-fcd2455d67d1

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Iran Has Terrorists Embedded Inside The United States And Across Our Border

So long as the world is entertaining worst-case scenarios, the media does Americans no favors in omitting that Iran-Hezbollah has for years prepared to strike in their own hometowns.

https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/07/iran-has-terrorists-embedded-inside-the-united-states-and-across-our-border/

----------------------------

Proxy War in Nicaragua - US-Arms Deals with Iran | THE COLD WAR

Jun 6, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Ihf9w_KCU

----------------------------

Iran And Italy Are Paying A Hefty Price For Close Ties With Communist China

March 17, 2020

Iran and Italy's economies are worsening, and their people are suffering most in this Wuhan virus outbreak — all because of their leaders’ short-sighted and foolish decisions.

https://thefederalist.com/2020/03/17/iran-and-italy-are-paying-a-hefty-price-for-close-ties-with-communist-china/

----------------------------

Soviets announce withdrawal from Iran

March 25, 1946

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-announce-withdrawal-from-iran

In conclusion to an extremely tense situation of the early Cold War, the Soviet Union announces that its troops in Iran will be withdrawn within six weeks. The Iranian crisis was one of the first tests of power between the United States and the Soviet Union in the postwar world.

The Iranian crisis began during World War II. In 1942, Iran signed an agreement by which British and Soviet troops were allowed into the country in order to defend the oil-rich nation from possible German attack. American troops were also soon in Iran. The 1942 treaty stated that all foreign troops would withdraw within six months after the end of the war. In 1944, however, both Great Britain and the United States began to press the Iranian government for oil concessions and the Soviets thereupon demanded concessions of their own. By 1945, the oil situation was still unsettled, but the war was coming to an end and the American attitude toward the Soviet Union had changed dramatically.

----------------------------

{England, Europe and America should have been fighting Iran, not defending Iran}.

----------------------------

1953 Iranian coup d'état

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état (Persian: کودتای ۲۸ مرداد‎), was the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favour of strengthening the monarchical rule of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi on 19 August 1953, orchestrated by the United States (under the name TPAJAX Project or "Operation Ajax") and the United Kingdom (under the name "Operation Boot"), and carried out by the Iranian military.

Mosaddegh had sought to audit the documents of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), a British corporation (now part of BP) and to limit the company's control over Iranian oil reserves. Upon the AIOC's refusal to co-operate with the Iranian government, the parliament (Majlis) voted to nationalize Iran's oil industry and to expel foreign corporate representatives from the country. After this vote, Britain instigated a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil to pressure Iran economically. Initially, Britain mobilized its military to seize control of the British-built Abadan oil refinery, then the world's largest, but Prime Minister Clement Attlee opted instead to tighten the economic boycott[16] while using Iranian agents to undermine Mosaddegh's government. Judging Mosaddegh to be unreliable and fearing a Communist takeover in Iran, UK prime minister Winston Churchill and the Eisenhower administration decided to overthrow Iran's government, though the preceding Truman administration had opposed a coup, fearing the precedent that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) involvement would set. British intelligence officials' conclusions and the UK government's solicitations were instrumental in initiating and planning the coup, despite the fact that the U.S. government in 1952 had been considering unilateral action (without UK support) to assist the Mosaddegh government.

Following the coup in 1953, a government under General Fazlollah Zahedi was formed which allowed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran (Persian for an Iranian king), to rule more firmly as monarch. He relied heavily on United States support to hold on to power. According to the CIA's declassified documents and records, some of the most feared mobsters in Tehran were hired by the CIA to stage pro-Shah riots on 19 August. Other men paid by the CIA were brought into Tehran in buses and trucks, and took over the streets of the city. Between 200 and 300 people were killed because of the conflict. Mosaddegh was arrested, tried and convicted of treason by the Shah's military court. On 21 December 1953, he was sentenced to three years in jail, then placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. Other Mosaddegh supporters were imprisoned, and several received the death penalty. After the coup, the Shah continued his rule as monarch for the next 26 years until he was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

In August 2013, sixty years afterward, the U.S. government formally acknowledged the U.S. role in the coup by releasing a bulk of previously classified government documents that show it was in charge of both the planning and the execution of the coup, including the bribing of Iranian politicians, security and army high-ranking officials, as well as pro-coup propaganda. The CIA is quoted acknowledging the coup was carried out "under CIA direction" and "as an act of U.S. foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government".

---------------------------

COMMUNISM iii. In Persia after 1953

https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/communism-iii

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CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran

1953

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cia-assisted-coup-overthrows-government-of-iran

---------------------------

64 Years Later, CIA Finally Releases Details of Iranian Coup

June 20, 2017

New documents reveal how the CIA attempted to call off the failing coup — only to be salvaged at the last minute by an insubordinate spy.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/20/64-years-later-cia-finally-releases-details-of-iranian-coup-iran-tehran-oil/

---------------------------

British spy's account sheds light on role in 1953 Iranian coup

August 17, 2020

Interview given by MI6 officer in 1980s was discovered in research for new documentary

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/17/british-spys-account-sheds-light-on-role-in-1953-iranian-coup

---------------------------

Tudeh Party of Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tudeh_Party_of_Iran

The Tudeh Party of Iran (Persian: حزب تودۀ ایران‎, romanized: Ḥezb-e Tūde-ye Īrān, lit. 'Party of the Masses of Iran') is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in its early years and played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddegh's campaign to nationalize the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and his term as prime minister. The crackdown that followed the 1953 coup against Mosaddegh is said to have "destroyed" the party, although a remnant persisted. The party still exists, but has remained much weaker as a result of its banning in Iran and mass arrests by the Islamic Republic in 1982, as well as the executions of political prisoners in 1988.

Tudeh identified itself as the historical offshoot of the Communist Party of Persia.

---------------------------

Persian Socialist Soviet Republic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Socialist_Soviet_Republic

The Persian Socialist Soviet Republic, also known as the Soviet Republic of Gilan was a short-lived unrecognized state, a Soviet republic in the Iranian province of Gilan that lasted from June 1920 until September 1921. It was established by Mirza Koochak Khan, a leader of the Constitutionalist movement of Gilan, and his Jangali (Jungle Movement) partisans, with the assistance of the Soviet Union's Red Army.

----------------------------

Socialism in Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism_in_Iran

----------------------------

U.S. Perceptions of the Communist Threat in Iran during the Mossadegh Era

August 07, 2019

https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/full/10.1162/jcws_a_00898

----------------------------

Worker Communist Parties of Iran and Iraq: The dangers of radical Stalinism

April 2, 2006

https://en.internationalism.org/wr/293_wpiran.html

----------------------------

100 Years of Iran's Communist Movement - A discussion with Tudeh Party Leader Ali Khavari

June 24, 2020

June 23rd, 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Communist Party of Iran (CPI)...

http://www.idcommunism.com/search/label/Iran

----------------------------

Union of Iranian Communists (Sarbedaran)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Iranian_Communists_(Sarbedaran)

Union of Iranian Communists (Sarbedaran lit. the head-on-gallow mass) (UIC (S); Persian: اتحادیه کمونیست‌های ایران‎) was an Iran Maoist organization. UIC (S) was formed in 1976 after the alliance of a number of Maoist groups carrying out military actions within Iran. The group prepared an insurrection starting in 1981, but it was dismantled by 1982.

Although it has gone through several ideological changes, it has maintained a general Maoist viewpoint advocating that Iran is not a Capitalist society but a “semicolonial-semifeudal” one. In 2001 the UIC (S) became the Communist Party of Iran (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist).

----------------------------

IRANIANS DISSOLVE COMMUNIST PARTY

May 5, 1983

https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/05/world/iranians-dissolve-communist-party.html

----------------------------

The Iranian Revolution: why 1979’s uprising still shapes the Middle East

June 18, 2019

Forty years ago, Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi fled Tehran – and 2,500 years of monarchy ended, to be replaced by an Islamic republic. Here, Ali Ansari examines the causes and legacy of the Iranian Revolution of 1979

https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/how-last-shah-lost-iran-mohammad-reza-pahlavi-iranian-revolution-middle-east/

----------------------------

1979: Iran's Islamic revolution: after the overthrow of the Shah, an American ally became one of its biggest adversaries.

2006

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/1979%3a+Iran%27s+Islamic+revolution%3a+after+the+overthrow+of+the+Shah%2c+an...-a0153239528

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The Iranian revolution and its legacy of terrorism

January 24, 2019

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/01/24/the-iranian-revolution-and-its-legacy-of-terrorism/

----------------------------

Beautiful IRAN before The Dark Revolution 1979

Dec 29, 2011

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTo5qgdcvcQ

----------------------------

Female Political Prisoners in Iran Tortured

August 26, 2020

https://www.iranfocus.com/en/women/34734-female-political-prisoners-in-iran-tortured/

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Iranian musician Mehdi Rajabian arrested for working with women

August 26, 2020

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53907674

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Iran threatening to torture soccer players' families

Nov 29, 2022

Tehran reportedly using relatives of its World Cup team players as insurance policy against 'misbehavior,' including refusal to sing anthem.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/363613

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Acceleration of the Social Gap in Iran Is Like a Train Heading Towards a Social Explosion

August 20, 2020

https://www.iranfocus.com/en/iran-general/34722-acceleration-of-the-social-gap-in-iran-is-like-a-train-heading-towards-a-social-explosion/

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Iran-Contra Affair

https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/iran-contra-affair

The Iran-Contra Affair was a secret U.S. arms deal that traded missiles and other arms to free some Americans held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon, but also used funds from the arms deal to support armed conflict in Nicaragua. The controversial deal—and the ensuing political scandal—threatened to bring down the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

----------------------------

Blame Iran for Iran's Problems

1-16-2020

https://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2020/01/16/blame_iran_for_irans_problems_255091.html

----------------------------

What was the Iran hostage crisis?

The Iran hostage crisis occurred when Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Iran and took a group of U.S. citizens hostage. They held the hostages for over a year from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981.

https://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/iran_hostage_crisis.php

----------------------------

Iranian women - before and after the Islamic Revolution

February 8, 2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47032829

----------------------------

Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia, Part One (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

Jan 8, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHcgnRl2xPM

----------------------------

A Military History of the Iraq War Part 1: "Shock and Awe"

Oct 7, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gaje5qD15AE

----------------------------

Oil prices surge to highest level since April after US kills Iran’s top commander in airstrike

Jan 2, 2020

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/03/oil-prices-surge-after-reports-that-a-key-iranian-general-was-killed-in-iraq-airstrike.html

----------------------------

UK, France Germany blame Iran for Saudi oil attacks

September 23, 2019

https://wtop.com/national/2019/09/uk-says-iran-responsible-for-attack-on-saudi-oil-facilities/

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Britain, France and Germany joined the United States on Monday in blaming Iran for attacks on key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, but the Iranian foreign minister pointed to claims of responsibility by Yemeni rebels and said: “If Iran were behind this attack, nothing would have been left of this refinery.”

Fallout from the Sept. 14 attacks is still reverberating as world leaders gather for their annual meeting at the U.N. General Assembly and international experts investigate, at Saudi Arabia’s request, what happened and who was responsible.

----------------------------

Iran suggests oil attacks orchestrated to spark conflict

May 2019

FM Javad Zarif says his country anticipated 'activities to escalate tension' by 'hardliners' in the US and Middle East.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/iran-suggests-oil-attacks-orchestrated-spark-conflict-190514155502867.html

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Oil tanker last seen near Iranian territory missing as Tehran vows "response" to seizure of its own ship

July 16, 2019

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-news-oil-tanker-riah-missing-persian-gulf-iranians-vow-response-united-kingdom-seizing-grace-1-2019-07-16/

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IRAN'S REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS SAY THEY CAPTURED BRITISH OIL TANKER FOR NOT FOLLOWING INTERNATIONAL MARITIME REGULATIONS - IRAN STATE TV

July 19, 2019

https://news.yahoo.com/irans-revolutionary-guards-captured-british-181145649.html

----------------------------

Iraq Considers A String Of Massive Oil Deals With China

2020

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Iraq-Considers-A-String-Of-Massive-Oil-Deals-With-China.html

----------------------------

China Prepares To Close ‘Oil Deal Of A Lifetime’ In Iraq

Apr 04, 2020

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/China-Prepares-To-Close-Oil-Deal-Of-A-Lifetime-In-Iraq.html

----------------------------

Iran steals $17 billion worth of Iraqi oil annually claims report

Mar 31st, 2014

https://bmcsr.com/iran-steals-17-billion-worth-of-iraqi-oil-annually-claims-report/

----------------------------

Trump's plan to seize Iraq's oil: 'It's not stealing, we're reimbursing ourselves'

Sep 2016

Strategy of taking oil in Iraq and from areas controlled by Isis presents huge issues from almost every angle and ‘would amount to a war crime’, experts say

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/21/donald-trump-iraq-war-oil-strategy-seizure-isis

----------------------------

Syria’s Oil Producing Regions Suffer From Theft, Pollution

Oct 29, 2013

After many of Syria’s eastern oil fields fell into the hands of rebel groups, operations to steal oil and primitive refineries threaten the region’s environment.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/business/2013/10/oil-theft-in-rebel-held-syria.html

----------------------------

Iran shuts down oil infrastructure after cyber attack

April 23, 2012

https://venturebeat.com/2012/04/23/iran-oil-cyber-attack/

----------------------------

Iran has hundreds of naval mines. U.S. Navy minesweepers find old dishwashers and car parts.

Aug 5, 2019

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/iran-naval-minesweepers

----------------------------

The Mysterious Relationship Between Al-Qa`ida and Iran

July 2010

https://www.ctc.usma.edu/the-mysterious-relationship-between-al-qaida-and-iran/

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Iran Just Struck U.S. Bases in Iraq With Ballistic Missiles. Here’s Why They’re Tehran’s Favored Weapon.

Jan 7, 2020

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastienroblin/2020/01/07/iran-just-struck-us-bases-in-iraq-with-ballistic-missiles-heres-why-theyre-tehrans-favored-weapon/#372d337f136c

At 1:30 a.m. in Iraq on Wednesday, a flurry of missile launch reports blossomed on radar screens as Iran launched a retaliatory strike against U.S. bases in Iraq codenamed Operation Martyr Soleimani. The attack was ordered by Tehran at the same hour Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone strike on January 3, and following the general’s burial the day before.

Iran claimed it launched 10 Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missiles—the Pentagon reported “over a dozen”—at U.S. forces in Iraq in at least two locations: Ain-al-Asad airbase and Erbil in central and northern Iraq, respectively.

----------------------------

Israel leverages dubious ‘Nuclear Archives’ to re-enlist IAEA in campaign against Iran

June 22, 2020

https://thegrayzone.com/2020/06/22/israel-nuclear-archives-iaea-iran/

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Iran’s Assassinations and Terrorist Activity Abroad

May 22, 2020

https://www.state.gov/irans-assassinations-and-terrorist-activity-abroad/

Overview

    Since coming to power in 1979, the Iranian regime has been implicated in assassinations, terrorist plots, and terrorist attacks in more than 40 countries.
    Senior Iranian officials have declared that Iran follows and constantly surveils Iranian dissidents in other countries to “crack down on them” and “strike decisive blows.”
    Iran’s global campaign of terror has included as many as 360 targeted assassinations in other countries, and mass bombing attacks that killed and maimed hundreds.
    Iran engaged in these assassinations and other attacks primarily through the IRGC-Qods Force and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, but also via third parties and proxies such as Hizballah.
    Iranian diplomatic personnel have repeatedly been implicated in assassinations abroad, as evidenced by arrest warrants, judicial and police investigations, intelligence services, and witness reports.
    As Iranian assassins using diplomatic cover have attracted increased scrutiny, Iran has showed willingness to use criminal gangs, drug cartels, and other third parties to carry out its assassination plots abroad.
    Iran consistently lies about its involvement in killings abroad, even when its own diplomatic personnel are caught surveilling attack targets, providing explosives or fleeing crime scenes.

Former Iranian Minister of Intelligence Ali Fallahian

    On May 20, the United States designated Ali Fallahian under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, due to credible information of his involvement in gross violations of human rights while he headed the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
    During his tenure, Fallahian was implicated in the assassination of multiple Iranian political dissidents in Europe, including cases in which Swiss and German courts issued warrants for his arrest.
    Besides directing individual assassinations, Fallahian provided resources and direction to terrorist groups abroad, expanding Iran’s facilitation of state-sponsored terrorism.
    On 9 July 1995, Alisa Michelle Flatow, a twenty-year old U.S. citizen in Israel on a foreign study program, was tragically killed in a suicide bombing in the Gaza Strip. A terrorist group supported by Iran claimed responsibility for the attack. In 1998, a U.S. federal district court found that Fallahian contributed to her death by personally approving the provision of resources to the terrorist group that killed her.
    The most catastrophic operation attributed to Fallahian is the 1994 bombing of the Argentina-Israelite Mutual Aid Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina that killed 85 individuals and wounded hundreds more. In 2006, Argentina issued an international arrest warrant for Fallahian based on credible evidence that Hizballah operatives and Iranian agents, under his direction, carried out the bombing. In 2007, INTERPOL issued a Red Notice for Fallahian, four other Iranian officials, and one Hizballah member.

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Iran remains top terror sponsor as global attacks decline

2017

https://www.cufi.org/iran-remains-top-terror-sponsor-as-global-attacks-decline/

-----------------------

Iran and state-sponsored terrorism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_and_state-sponsored_terrorism

-----------------------

Iran, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction

2008

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/03_iran_byman.pdf

----------------------------

Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Iranian_nuclear_scientists

Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated (Masoud Alimohammadi, Majid Shahriari, Darioush Rezaeinejad and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan) while another scientist was wounded in an attempted murder (Fereydoon Abbasi). Two of the killings were carried out with magnetic bombs attached to the targets' cars; Darioush Rezaeinejad was shot dead, and Masoud Alimohammadi was killed in a motorcycle-bomb explosion. The Iranian government accused Israel of complicity in the killings. In 2011 and 2012, Iranian authorities arrested a number of Iranians alleged to have carried out the assassination campaign on behalf of Mossad (the Israeli intelligence service). Western intelligence services and U.S officials reportedly confirmed the Israeli connection. In June 2012, the Iranian government was confident that it had arrested all the assassins.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement, but Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya'alon said: "We will act in any way and are not willing to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. We prefer that this be done by means of sanctions, but in the end, Israel should be able to defend itself." The assassination campaign was reportedly terminated in 2013 following diplomatic pressure from the United States, which was attempting to negotiate restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities.

----------------------------

Nuclear deal could give Iran technologies to cut pollution

November 2015

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34965973

----------------------------

Iran executes man for providing information to CIA and Mossad

July 20, 2020

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/iran-executes-man-for-providing-information-on-qasem-soleimani-to-cia-and-mossad/article32137610.ece

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Iran’s Role in Persecution of Mideast Christians Is Overlooked

March 30, 2022

https://www.copticsolidarity.org/2022/03/30/irans-role-in-persecution-of-mideast-christians-is-overlooked-2/

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Iran Seeks Regional “Eliminationism” of Christians

03/07/2022

https://www.persecution.org/2022/03/07/iran-seeks-regional-eliminationism-christians/

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Newt Gingrich: Iran is very close to breaking

Jul 2, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BTOkfq6dMU

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Failure to aid province highlights Iran's misguided priorities

02/28/17

https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/321635-failure-to-aid-key-province-highlights-irans-misguided

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Iran: Environment Takes A Back Seat To Development Plans

August 27, 2007

https://www.rferl.org/a/1078370.html

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Why jail wildlife experts?

Oct 15, 2018

https://share.america.gov/imprisoned-for-trying-to-protect-irans-endangered-leopards/

Fighting for the protection of Iran’s endangered leopards and cheetahs cost Kavous Seyed Emami his life.

Iranian authorities arrested and interrogated the 64-year-old professor of sociology and director of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation for “espionage” on January 24, 2018.

He died 17 days later under suspicious circumstances in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison.

Eight others affiliated with the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation were likewise arrested and remain imprisoned in Evin.

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Environmental Scientists Being Detained In Iran and Accused of Spying

October 18, 2018

Several environmental scientists have been arrested in Iran and accused of spying on nuclear facilities. One of the scientists, an American citizen Morad Tahbaz, graduate of Columbia University, is co-founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation. Members of the Foundation have openly opposed installation of underground nuclear and missile launch facilities on protected lands. Its managing director, Canadian citizen Kavous Seyed-Emami, detained last January together with Morad Tahbaz and seven others, died in Evin prison after intense interrogations soon after his arrest.

https://concernedscientists.org/2018/10/environmental-scientists-being-detained-in-iran-and-accused-of-spying/

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How Four Women Destroyed 1,200 Tons of Poison Gas — and Defused a Crisis

February 27, 2022

An obscure Defense Department team had nine months to make a stockpile of Syria’s chemical weapons disappear. In doing the impossible, they helped avert a global showdown and saved untold lives

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/syria-war-chemical-weapons-sarin-1296374/

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Ahwazis ask for clean water but get live bullets from the Iranian regime instead

July 3, 2018

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180703-ahwazis-ask-for-clean-water-but-get-live-bullets-from-the-iranian-regime-instead/

Iranian government forces used tear gas and live ammunition against Ahwazi protesters in the city of Muhammarah on Saturday. One protester was shot dead, while dozens of others were wounded in the demonstration calling for clean, drinkable water and condemning government injustices...

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Why the U.S. Owed Iran That $400 Million

August 5, 2016

https://time.com/4441046/400-million-iran-hostage-history/

It does look fishy as all get out: $400 million in assorted denominations, stacked on wooden pallets and flown to Tehran in the dead of night by the government of the United States. Hours later, five imprisoned Americans are released and board planes to freedom. If that situation—which took place in January—doesn’t look like a hostage deal, what does?

Answer: The actual hostage deal that in fact accounts for the cash payment, which President Obama said on Thursday was not a ransom.

The currency shipped to Iran in the dead of night drew attention from presidential candidate Donald Trump this week, who on Friday appeared to walk back an earlier assertion that he had seen a payment being delivered. But that money was owed to the Islamic Republic since 1979, the year the U.S. froze all the Iranian funds in American banks as retribution for seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, as revolution swept that nation.

What was universally known as the Iran hostage crisis went on for more than a year, and finally ended with a bargain: In exchange for the release of 52 American diplomats and citizens, both sides agreed to resolve the question of money through international arbitration. The Iran-United States Claims Tribunal has trudged along for almost four decades now, and the money has flowed both ways. By 1983, Iran had returned $896 million to U.S. banks, which in turn had returned hundreds of millions in frozen funds to Iran. Today, private claims from the U.S. side have been resolved to the tune of $2.1 billion.

But still at issue as Obama began his second term was $400 million that Iran in the late 1970s had paid for U.S. fighter jets, while Tehran was still a U.S. ally. After it turned into an enemy in 1979, Washington was not about to deliver the jets. But, all these years later, Iran wanted its money back—and with interest.

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Iran Says It Detained a UAE Ship and Its Crew

August 20, 2020

https://www.marinelink.com/news/iran-says-detained-a-uae-ship-crew-481098

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Why Iran Is Threatening to Close the Strait of Hormuz

Jul 5, 2018

https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/why-iran-threatening-close-strait-hormuz

Recently, Iran's government has been revisiting a familiar refrain: the threat to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz. In comments published on his official website July 3, President Hassan Rouhani issued a vague threat against regional oil exports, saying, "the Americans have claimed they want to completely stop Iran's oil exports. They don't understand the meaning of this statement, because it has no meaning for Iranian oil not to be exported, while the region's oil is exported." On July 4 and 5, several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials expressed their willingness to follow through on the president's tacit threat. The IRGC's commander, Mohammad Ali Jafari, for example, said, "we are hopeful that this plan expressed by our president will be implemented if needed. We will make the enemy understand that either all can use the Strait of Hormuz or no one."...

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How Iranians lost access to the world wide web for one whole week?

December 3, 2019

https://www.knowaboutiran.com/how-iranians-lost-access-to-the-world-wide-web-for-one-whole-week/

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Energy in Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Iran

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Abrupt Execution of Wrestling Champion Navid Afkari Shrouded in Secrecy

September 15, 2020

https://iran-hrm.com/index.php/2020/09/15/abrupt-execution-of-wrestling-championnavid-afkari-shrouded-in-secrecy/

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Iran to Blind Acid Attack Woman in Sharia Retribution Punishment

2017

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/03/iran-blind-acid-attack-woman-retribution-punishment/

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UK's lead role in 1953 Iran coup d'etat exposed

Aug 18, 2020

Unearthed interview of former British spy sheds light on how the overthrow of PM Mohammed Mossadegh unfolded.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/uk-lead-role-1953-iran-coup-exposed-200818072007050.html

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China, Russia and Iran to conduct joint naval drills in Gulf of Oman

Dec 26, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg5jNwCJ0FM

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Are Russia and Iran expanding military ties? | Inside Story

Dec 10, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T41kw_8oaTY

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Iran admits to supplying Russia with kamikaze drones used in Ukraine | World News | TVP World

Nov 5, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUHKerFAzPQ

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Iran becoming a rising threat to Ukrainian security | Eastern Express | TVP World

Dec 16, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh1Y0Zu616g

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Iran’s President Calls for Closer Ties with Kyrgyzstan

August 31, 2020

https://ifpnews.com/irans-president-calls-for-closer-ties-with-kyrgyzstan

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2019–2020 Persian Gulf crisis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%932020_Persian_Gulf_crisis

The 2019–2020 Persian Gulf crisis, also known as the Crisis in the Gulf and the Iranian–American confrontation is an intensification of military tensions between the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies and the United States of America and their allies in the Persian Gulf region. The U.S. began a buildup of its military presence in the region to deter an alleged planned campaign by Iran and its non-state allies to attack American forces and interests in the Persian Gulf and Iraq. This followed a rise in political tensions between the two countries during the Trump administration, which included the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the imposition of new sanctions against Iran, and the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. In response, Iran designated the United States Central Command as a terrorist organization.

Several merchant ships in the Persian Gulf were damaged in two incidents in May and June 2019. Western nations blamed Iran, while Iran denied involvement. In June 2019, Iran shot down an American RQ-4A surveillance drone flying over the Strait of Hormuz, sharply increasing tensions and nearly resulting in an armed confrontation. In July 2019, an Iranian oil tanker was seized by Britain in the Strait of Gibraltar on the grounds that it was shipping oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Iran later captured a British oil tanker and its crew members in the Persian Gulf. Both Iran and the UK later released the ships. Meanwhile, the U.S. created the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), which sought to increase "overall surveillance and security in key waterways in the Middle East", according to United States Department of Defense.

------------------------------

Environmental impact of Gulf wars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_Gulf_wars

------------------------------

Warfare: Iraq’s Toxic Shipwrecks

2005

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1278500/

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Iraq’s perfect storm – a climate and environmental crisis amid the scars of war

19 July 2021

https://www.icrc.org/en/document/iraqs-perfect-storm-climate-and-environmental-crisis-amid-scars-war

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How Iran’s Government Controls Drug Trafficking and the Counterfeit Drug Mafia

September 17, 2019

https://www.iranfocus.com/en/life-in-iran/33896-how-iran-s-government-controls-drug-trafficking-and-the-counterfeit-drug-mafia/

Scarcity and high prices of medication in Iran has become a bottleneck in the lives of the people.
While drugs are abundant in Iran’s black markets, ordinary people are struggling to get medication from official centers and drug stores.

One of these markets is located in Tehran’s Nasser Khosrow Street. All over Nasser Khosrow Street, the sound of chemises rings in the ears of consumers, offering drugs to patients desperately seeking medication.
Dealers in the area sell drugs at whatever price they want, and buyers have no other choice than to comply with the wishes of the dealers.

Commenting on the boom in the drug market in Nasser Khosrow Street, ISNA news agency wrote in September :

“Although Ministry of Health officials have repeatedly stated that there is no shortage of medicine in the country, the hot market for drug dealers indicates something else and these days drug dealers work illegally because of the currency rate changes and its effects on drug imports have been booming more than ever, bringing the dealers to their usual hangout, Nasser Khosrow Street. You can get all kinds of pills, medicines and syringes that are even rare in specialized pharmacies. The disaster has reached a point, where health ministry officials have called on security and judicial authorities to address the issue.”

Among the wares of these unauthorized sellers are a variety of rare, scarce, hand-made and even counterfeit medicines offered to patients.

There are many non-standard, counterfeit and expired medicines, but the traffickers put them in standard packaging when they offered them to consumers.

According to Mohammad Hossein Ghorbani, a parliament member, 90% of the drugs sold in Nasser Khosrow are counterfeit and in most cases the date of use of these drugs is manipulated and, they are labeled as brand products. (Fars News Agency 6 September 2019)

While chaos in the drug market continues to fester, the Ministry of Health is not taking any responsibility for it.
Gholamhossein Mehralian, director of the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health, said his ministry is not responsible for “the task monitoring the black market”.

This is in the context of a $1 billion import of electrical properties instead of stents for heart by the government! Which such corruption in the ministry, it is natural that it is not in a position to combat drug trafficking, counterfeit and nonstandard drugs.

While on the surface, Iranian health ministry officials are sympathizing with the ordeals of the people, they are deeply complicit with the drug traffickers and are contributing immensely to the compromising of the health of the Iranian people.

The fact is that the problem of drug trafficking in Nasser Khosrow is not for today or yesterday, but rather a problem of the corrupted rule. The abundance of counterfeit medicines on the market is under the condition that many domestic and imported drugs are smuggled overseas.

But the director general of the Food and Drug Administration downplayed the drug trafficking situation and the problems people face in buying nonofficial drugs, and described the problem of counterfeit drugs and smuggled drugs as a “small problem,” saying: “As a person standing on the front line of this ministry, I believe this market (smuggled drugs) is very small and not a big market at all. The exchanges that exist on the black drug market are very small. ”

It is astounding that this government insider says, “We know the mechanism for filling the black market” but doesn’t know “what group or persons are behind the story”!

The fact is that one should not go far in identifying the factors that drive the black market and drug trafficking. Those who spent a billion dollars on purchasing power cables and electrical appliances in the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Health could have imported and sold heart stent for heart patients with the 4,200 Tuman government fixed-rate.

But they sold them for more than 12,000 Tuman to the free market. Indeed, they and their bosses know very well how to fill the black market with counterfeit and unofficial drugs.

The abundance of smuggling drug on Nasser Khosro Street is due to violations by drug companies controlled by the Ministry of Health. While the security forces, especially the Ministry of Intelligence, claim to have an intelligence aristocracy over many issues, the Director General of Pharmaceuticals says, “We did not have any reports of drug company violations by security authorities!”

The clues of the drug trafficking mafia are in the hands of the Ministry of Health and controlled by the senior elements of the government.

The corruption situation at the Ministry of Health is so obvious that the new minister, Saeed Nemaki, has said after assuming the post, that “this rotten and nonsense network should be disbanded.”

The story of the discovery of smuggled and hoarded drugs by the daughter of former minister of industry Nematzadeh and the discovery of her drug stockpile, which had a large number of expired drugs, is one of the many instances of government sedition and corruption about the drugs that people need immediately.

Such a situation of drug corruption among the government institutions and leaders has fueled the Nasser Khosrow Street drug market.

Such a market would never take shape without the green light from government agencies and leaders to sell illicit drugs.

Corruption in the medicine needed by the people is part of the economic corruption rooted in the ruling regime, a corruption that stems from institutionalized political corruption.

-----------------------

Yemeni official: Iran constantly trying to counterfeit the country’s currency

January 16, 2018

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/01/16/Government-spokesperson-Iran-counterfeiting-Yemen-currency-severely-devaluating-it.html

Yemeni government has accused Iranian institutions of constantly trying to counterfeit the Yemeni currency causing its devaluation.

A government spokesperson said that this is aimed at “extorting the international community by using the humanitarian card to stop military operations against the Houthi militia.”

The spokesperson, Rabeh al-Bady, said: “The Iranian plan aims to preserve the Houthis and save its project which is nearing its end after the increasing hits and civilian defeats that it is suffering from the Yemeni army with the support of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition.”

Al-Bady added that the militia stole five billion dollars from Yemen’s foreign currency reserves, and controls two trillion Yemeni Riyals in banks according to a released published by the official Yemeni news agency, Saba.

He said that the Houthis are using this large amount of local money to speculate exchange rates and withdraw foreign currencies, which actually deteriorates the value of the Yemeni Riyal.

The Yemeni Riyal has reached its lowest value in history in the past few days, where one US dollar is now equivalent to 500 Yemeni Riyals, after it was only 215 Riyals before the Houthi battles began. This also caused the prices of goods and services to rise significantly.

The spokesman added that the Yemeni government is doing its best to find effective solutions to stop the devaluation of their currency which he described as “unacceptable”. “Some decisions and procedures will be implemented in this regard,” he said without giving any further details.

The US Treasury Department had placed a number of companies and clients belonging to the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on a sanctions list for printing counterfeit money worth millions of dollars in Yemen.

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U.S. Hits Iranian Firms With Sanctions Over Counterfeiting Yemeni Banknotes

November 20, 2017

https://www.rferl.org/a/us-sanctions-iran-companies-counterfeit-yemen-currency/28865236.html

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Iranian Pharmacists’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Counterfeit Drugs

2012

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3813117/

Abstract

Background Awareness of pharmacists about counterfeit drugs is necessary for health improvement in community. The purpose of the present study is to assess the knowledge and measure the professional attitude and practice of Iranian pharmacist about counterfeit drugs. In August 2008, a knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) study was performed in a national sample of 794 pharmacists who participated in an Iranian Pharmacist Association congress. A questionnaire was prepared to collect Demographic and professional characteristics, Knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacists regarding counterfeit drugs. The mean percent of participants who answer each practice questions correctly is 13.62% and none of questions have more than 14.7% of correct answer, while the participants’ attitude towards the subject is at high level. None of demographic factors represented a significant relationship with knowledge and the only related parameters with attitude, were age and gender. Increasing age of pharmacists resulted in attitude improvement (p = 0.013) and women›s attitudes were better than men (p = 0.05).The only related parameters with practice, were the number of working hours per a week and attitude. Increasing the number of working hours per a week, resulted in decreasing the desirable practice (p = 0.041) and attitude also had a direct relationship with practice (p = 0.011). Conclusion The most important finding in the present study was the pharmacists› low knowledge and practice level about counterfeit drugs, while their attitude towards this subject was at a high level. The results point out the need for designing and implementing educational programs.

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Cyberwarfare and Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberwarfare_and_Iran

Attacks by Iran

The Iranian government has been accused by western analysts of its own cyber-attacks against the United States, Israel and Persian Gulf Arab countries, but deny this, including specific allegations of 2012 involvement in hacking into American banks. The conflict between Iran and the United States has been called "history's first known cyber-war" by Michael Joseph Gross mid-2013.
Events

    Israel August 2014: An IDF official told press in that Iran has launched numerous significant attacks against Israel's Internet infrastructure.
    Turkey 31 March 2015: Iranian hackers, possibly Iranian Cyber Army pushed a massive power outage for 12 hours in 44 of 81 provinces of Turkey, holding 40 million people. Istanbul and Ankara were among the places suffering blackout.
    United Kingdom June 2017: The Daily Telegraph reported that intelligence officials concluded that Iran was responsible for a cyberattack on the British Parliament lasting 12 hours that compromised around 90 email accounts of MPs. The motive for the attack is unknown but experts suggested that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could be using cyberwarfare to undermine the Iran nuclear deal.

Suspended Iranian accounts

On May 5, 2020, Reuters reported, quoting a monthly Facebook report, that Iranian state-run media had targeted hundreds of fake social media accounts to covertly spread pro-Iranian messaging, online since at least 2011, for secretly broadcasting online promotional messages in favor of Iran in order targeting voters in countries including Britain and the United States. Accounts suspended for so-called “coordinated inauthentic behavior", which removed eight networks in recent weeks, including one with links to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

-----------------------

Iran’s Cyber Attack Timeline 2009 – 2020

January 21, 2020

https://www.metacompliance.com/blog/irans-cyber-attack-timeline-2009-2020/

December 2009 – Twitter homepage hacked: In 2009, a group known as the ‘Iranian Cyber Army’ defaced Twitter’s homepage in response to the Green Movement protests. The attack forced Twitter offline for more than an hour and users were unable to log into the service or send tweets.

August 2010 – Stuxnet Virus: The famous Stuxnet attack is widely accepted as the catalyst that propelled Iran to develop its cyber warfare operations. In one of the first ever nation-state attacks, the Americans and Israelis collaborated to stop Iran from producing Uranium that could be used in nuclear weapons. A computer worm known as Stuxnet was placed on an infected USB stick and used to gain access to the Iranian computer systems. Although it didn’t completely halt operations, it did destroy nearly 1,000 uranium enriching centrifuges and significantly reduced Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

2011 – 2013 – DDoS Attack targeting US Financial Institutions: In the aftermath of the Stuxnet attack, Iranian hackers launched a series of DDoS attacks targeting some of America’s biggest banks. 46 financial institutions including Bank of America, JP Morgan and Capital One were hit by the attack that left thousands of customers unable to access their accounts and cost the banks millions in remediation.

August 2013 – Security Breach at Bowman Dam, New York: Iranian hackers remotely took control of the command and control network of the Bowman Dam just outside New York. The hackers could have potentially released water from the dam, only that the gate had been manually disconnected for maintenance at the time.

February 2014 – Sands Las Vegas Corporation Hacked: After the owner of the corporation advocated the use of nuclear weapons against Iran, Iranian hackers retaliated by bringing down the group’s IT systems, knocking out the phone lines and wiping a large number of computers. The attack also exposed customers Personally Identifiable Information, including credit card numbers, social security numbers and driver’s licence details.

2013 – 2017 – IRGC Cyber Theft Campaign: Within a 4-year period, Iranian hackers conducted a massive cyber theft campaign that stole more than 31 terabytes of documents and data from 144 U.S. universities, 176 universities across 21 foreign countries, 47 domestic and foreign private sector companies, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the State of Hawaii, the State of Indiana, the United Nations, and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

August 2017 – Shamoon Virus attack on Saudi Aramco Oil Company: The 2017 attack on the world’s largest oil company marked a shift in Iran’s cyberwarfare operations. Using Shamoon malware, the hackers were able to wipe over 30,000 computers and cost the company millions in damages.

December 2018 – Ransomware attack on Atlanta’s city government: Iranian hackers were behind the massive cyber attack that crippled the city of Atlanta in 2018. Using Sam Sam Ransomware, the attackers were able to bring down some of the city’s vital computer systems whilst trying to extort thousands from the local government. Residents were left unable to pay their water bills, court hearings had to be postponed, police were unable to file online reports and public Wi-fi at the local airport was knocked out.

October 2019 – Hacking campaign US Presidential Campaign – According to Microsoft, the Iranian hacker group ‘Phosphorous’ tried to breach accounts associated with a U.S. presidential campaign and US government officials. The attackers made more than 2700 attempts to identify consumer email accounts and hacked into 241 of these accounts.

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US 'launched cyber-attack on Iran weapons systems'

June 23, 2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48735097

The US launched a cyber-attack on Iranian weapons systems on Thursday as President Trump pulled out of air strikes on the country, US reports say.

The cyber-attack disabled computer systems controlling rocket and missile launchers, the Washington Post said.

It was in retaliation for the shooting down of a US drone as well as attacks on oil tankers that the US has blamed Iran for, the New York Times said.

There is no independent confirmation of damage to Iranian systems.

The US is set to impose further sanctions on Iran that President Trump has described as "major".

He said the sanctions were needed to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and economic pressure would be maintained unless Tehran changed course.

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Report: Israeli cyberattack caused Iran nuclear site fire, F35s hit missile base

July 3, 2020

Kuwaiti newspaper cites unnamed senior source as saying Jerusalem behind recent incidents in Iran, following an alleged attempt by Tehran to hack Israel’s water infrastructure

https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-israeli-cyberattack-caused-iran-nuclear-site-fire-f35s-hit-missile-base/#gs.gh9ea0

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The Hunt: Iran promises retaliation for cyber attacks, terrorism likely

July 15, 2020

https://wtop.com/j-j-green-national/2020/07/the-hunt-iran-promises-retaliation-for-cyber-attacks-terrorism-likely/

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FAA: All U.S. airlines banned 'indefinitely' from flying over Iran, Iraq and Persian Gulf

Jan 07, 2020

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/faa-all-u-s-airlines-banned-indefinitely-from-flying-over-iran-iraq-persian-gulf-and-gulf-of-oman

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Airlines to avoid airspace over Persian and Oman Gulf after tensions spike

JUNE 21, 2019

Air France-KLM's Dutch subsidiary KLM is also avoiding flying over parts of Iran as a precautionary measure.

https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Airlines-to-avoid-airspace-over-Persian-and-Oman-Gulf-after-tensions-spike-593246

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The Nuclear Seaplanes Created to Replace America's Aircraft Carriers

Jan 21, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atawT3whjPY

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Iran humiliated as they bungle sinking of replica US warship and block vital naval port
IRAN has suffered a humiliating blow after a replica US aircraft carrier which was the target of simulated attacks sank of its own accord - blocking up the key port of Bandar Abbas.

Aug 5, 2020

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1319107/iran-news-replica-us-boat-revolutionary-guard-bandar-abbas-strait-of-hormuz-oil

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US Space Force Confirms Space Based infrared System Detected Missile Attack in January

September 15, 2020

https://news.yahoo.com/amphtml/space-forms-confirms-space-based-133557460.html

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force confirmed that its Space Based Infrared System satellites were used to detect more than a dozen Iranian missiles aimed at U.S. war fighters in Iraq in January, giving Americans and their partners crucial warning.

On Sept. 15, Chief of Space Operations Gen. John “Jay” Raymond specifically credited space professionals assigned to the 2nd Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, with providing that early warning, saving the lives of American and coalition forces.

“They operated the world’s best missile warning capabilities and they did outstanding work, and I’m very very proud of them,” he said during prepared remarks at the virtual Air Force Association 2020: Air, Space and Cyberspace Conference.

SBIRS is the U.S. military’s primary missile warning satellite constellation. Built by Lockheed Martin, the satellites use exquisite infrared sensors provided by Northrop Grumman to detect ballistic missile launches all around the world. The constellation consists of four geosynchronous (GEO) satellites, with another two payloads riding on host satellites operating in highly elliptical orbits (HEO) to provide global coverage. The GEO satellites include two sensors: A scanner and a step-starer. While the scanning sensor continuously monitors the earth, the more accurate step-starer can provide coverage for theater missions. Each HEO payloads includes a scanning sensor.

A fifth geosynchronous satellite is expected to launch in 2021.

While many observers assumed SBIRS was used to detect the missiles after President Donald Trump credited an “an early warning system” for helping the U.S. avoid casualties, this is the first explicit confirmation that the system was used.

The confirmation comes nine months after the Pentagon claimed Iranian forces launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces on Jan. 7. Reportedly, 10 of the missiles hit Al Assad Air Base, although there were no casualties.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran had escalated in the days leading up to the attack.

Ahead of a potential attack, the 2nd Space Warning Squadron was able to bring the SBIRS constellation to bear, providing advanced warning of any Iranian missile launches. Raymond specifically credited Capt. Tasia Reed and Lt. Christianna Castaneda with personally planning the SBIRS mission in the lead up to the attack, ensuring optimal sensor coverage of the area.

“This optimization resulted in vital early warning getting to the theater of operations and preserving the lives of U.S. personnel and their partners,” said Raymond.

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WION Live Broadcast | Iran protests continue | Kamala Harris meets Philippines Pres | English News

Nov 21, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86l45QDsh34

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Why Iran is Terrified of its People

Dec 4, 2022

Iran Is experiencing some political protests that are shaking the entire country. Could the people of Iran change things forever? Check out today’s epic new video to find out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl6zCOF80yc

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How do European countries respond to the first execution of a protester in Iran? | DW News

Dec 10, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNmbspnxZAA

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How is Iran's brutal crackdown impacting the protest movement? | DW News

Dec 12, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCbhiYaZ2n0

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Despite more than 300 Iranians killed, protests show no signs of stopping | DW News

Nov 23, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RFsNfSMs24

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Azerbaijan strongly protests to Iran after fatal embassy shooting

January 27, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/guard-killed-shooting-azerbaijans-embassy-iran-2023-01-27/

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Gravitas LIVE: Fires burn on the streets of Iran | Khomeini's home torched | Global Headlines | WION

Nov 18, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB7GaTtRASE

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Gravitas LIVE: Joe Biden's latest vow "We're going to free Iran" | Latest English News | WION

Nov 4, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6z-KGrgVqU

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What Would Happen If USA and Iran Went to War? (2022 Military / Army Comparison)

Apr 21, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYScSn1-Zk

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Will there be a Second Iranian Revolution? - A Warographics Analysis

Nov 5, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwIqBZ9tltE

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Why Iran and America are Adversaries

Oct 31, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bk9BQRM1ec

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"Little Sparta" and the Good Problem of Capable Allies

August 30, 2020

https://www.lawfareblog.com/little-sparta-and-good-problem-capable-allies

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Population surge threatens water supply in Iran

Apr 1st, 2003

Rapid population growth, industrial expansion and urban migration are threatening Iran's water resources. Dr. Mohammad Taghi Sheykhi of Al-Zahra University in Tehran proposes water management initiatives to solve water shortages.

https://www.waterworld.com/drinking-water/article/16200403/population-surge-threatens-water-supply-in-iran

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Intelligence related to income and climate

The displayed IQ was averaged out of the results of 9 international studies and compared to the average income and government expenditures on education for the years 1990 to 2010.

Iran Average IQ: 84

https://www.worlddata.info/iq-by-country.php

-----------------------------

Iran Total Estimated Population (September 17th, 2020)

84,231,000 people (Over 84 Million people)

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/iran-population/

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{The estimated population in Iran was 84,231,000 million people on September 17th, 2020.

We are calling for 6 million to 15 million people for the total number of allowable people to live in Iran. We can see that Libya only has under 7 million people and that Iran and Libya are around the same size. We should promote the higher IQ population and sterilize anyone with an IQ of under 100 in Iran. We would consider Iran to have very fragile landscapes, we can see how easily many of these lakes in Iran can dry up or turn into Salt Lakes eventually.

Many question if Israel and Iran could go to war and that Israel could invade Iran.

We should have gotten rid of many of these overpopulated Arabs and Muslims many hundreds of years ago and we would never have this problem with overpopulation, poverty. The world is overpopulated with too many Third World Black Muslims and Arab Muslims that continue to invade Europe.

We cannot tolerate Third World nations such as Iran that continue to attack America and other First World Nations. We simply will not allow these Cyber Attacks to continue from Iran when we simply should have gotten rid of this corrupt government many years ago. We should invade Iran and sterilize over 75% of the Iranian population. Iran wants to use cyber warfare and terrorism as a means to set back First World nations. Why should we allow a corrupt radical Arab Islamic government such as Iran to get a foothold in order to harm civilized First World nations with a Third World Arabic terrorist Islamic government.

We are calling for a full invasion of Iran and to reduce the surface population in Iran by over 75%. We can see that Iran has too many degenerative bloodlines. I simply do not see it is worth keeping Iran with such overpopulated numbers. Too many low IQ degenerates in Iran are also taking up too many resources, currently the scientific community does not approve of these Third World Arab Islamic terrorists that continue to attempt to gain nuclear weapons. We should repopulate Iran with a higher IQ Western European population of white people, we should phase out many of these degenerative low IQ Arabs and promote some of the higher IQ lighter skinned Iranians possibly. We should still defeat Iran in a war and repopulate Iran with mostly a lighter skinned race of higher IQ white people, this is in order to phase out many of these low IQ Arab degenerates in the Middle East}.

-------------------------------

For additional information on these subjects read our following books.

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Pollution Science 101 - China

https://pollutionscience101china.blogspot.com

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Pollution Science 101 - Brazil - Emergency Report

https://pollutionscience101brazil.blogspot.com

--------------------------

Pollution Science 101 - Mexico

https://pollutionscience101mexico.blogspot.com

-----------------

Pollution Science 101- Russia

https://pollutionscience101russia.blogspot.com

-----------------

Pollution Science 101 - India

https://pollutionscience101india.blogspot.com

-----------------

Pollution Science 101 - Cancer Investigated (California)

https://pollutionscience101cancerinvestigated.blogspot.com

-----------------

Pollution Science 101 - Israel

https://pollutionscience101israel.blogspot.com

-----------------

Pollution Science 101 - Texas

https://pollutionscience101texasvsbpoil.blogspot.com

------------------

Pollution Science 101 - Solutions

https://pollutionscience101solutions.blogspot.com

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4/10/2020 - The Cephalic Investigation - Race Eugenics & Dysgenics (Skull Evolution & The History of the Lineage of Man)

https://skullevolution.blogspot.com

-----------------------------

3/5/2019 - Race Dysgenics: Evolution, Dysgenic De-evolution, Eugenics & Genetic Modification - The History of the Lineage of Man - https://racedysgenics.blogspot.com

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04/19/2018 The Dysgenics Investigation - Race, Science & the Human Genome Project - The Eugenics Investigation (Akoniti) - DysgenicsInvestigation.blogspot.com

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Race Virus 101 - The Eugenics Investigation ( The Dysgenics Investigation)

https://racevirus101.blogspot.com/

--------------------------

8/15/2017 - Genetically Modified Vaccines Investigated - The Eugenics Investigation (MonsantoInvestigation.com) - GMOvaccinesinvestigated.blogspot.com

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Race Dysgenics Brazil | Eugenics in Brazil

https://eugenicsbrazil.blogspot.com

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July 7th, 2017 - Genetically Modified Humans & Viruses - The Eugenics Investigation - GMOhumansandviruses.blogspot.com

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4/4/2019 - The Rockefeller Dynasty Investigation 2020 - The Eugenics Investigation - https://rockefellerdynastyinvestigation.blogspot.com/

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January 27th, 2017 - Islamic Sharia Law & Genocide - The Middle East Conflict Investigation

Islamicshariagenocide.blogspot.com

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King Solomon's Temple Investigation Marathon

https://solomonstempleinvestigation.blogspot.com/

---------------------------

The DuPont Investigation

https://dupontinvestigation.blogspot.com

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TheInvestigations@Email.com

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Sunday, September 20, 2020

Iran uses water pollution as weapon to undermine Basra, Iraq’s economy

November 17, 2017

Glaciers of Iran – in pictures

Water Conflict: Protests over Water, Pollution Flare in Iran

Why Iran is facing reduced rainfall?

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Abstract

Abstract

Mercury contamination in five owl species from Iran

Iran: Tap water pollution in 8 districts in Tehran

Environmental impact of Gulf wars