In the years prior to the water protests, Iran had already been facing diminishing rainfall, warmer temperatures and frequent droughts.
According to a report by the Tehran-based Financial Tribune, the amount of rainfall decreased significantly between September and December 2017, reaching its lowest level in the past 67 years.
[9] A 2018 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization stated that "Iran has experienced its most prolonged, extensive and severe drought in over 30 years.
[21][22][19] According to experts, the government's strive for unconstrained development, focusing on immediate economic benefits rather than long-term ecological effects, has been the most important issue.
Other aspects include Iran's water governance structure, the unstable political climate, and disintegration with other policy areas.
[27] Furthermore, demonstrations took place in 2013 to protest a major water transfer project in the provinces of Khuzestan and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and in front of the parliament building in Tehran.
[28][17] In February 2017, two days of demonstrations took place in the Khuzestan province to protest against air pollution, water shortages, and power cuts.
Although in most instances protestors did not explicitly voice their discontent over water-related issues, according to analysts, a lack of access to water contributed to the outbreak of these protests, especially in rural areas.
[4][17][32] According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, small groups of demonstrators started protesting water shortages in mid-February.
The protests primarily took place in the central-western regions of Iran and were aimed against drought conditions and a provincial water redistribution plan proposed by the government.
Hundreds or possibly thousands of protesters marched towards water transfer facilities with the alleged intent of destroying a pipeline.
[34] In Ahvaz, in the Khuzestan Province, protesters called for an end to regional water transfer projects in late March.
[27][37] On 9 April, farmers were involved in skirmishes with police forces in Isfahan two days later, as they again protested water distribution policies.
On 14 April, a group of farmers severely damaged power poles in the city, causing a disruption in the water diversion system.
Late into the evening and early into the morning of 1 July, protesters began throwing rocks and waste toward security forces, while police fired tear gas at the crowds.
[20][13] In response to the violent crackdown in Khorramshahr the previous day, thousands of people took to the streets in support of the protests in several places near Khorromshahr.
Protesters threw objects and engaged in vandalism according to state media, after which security forces dispersed the crowd.
[9] A major protest broke out in Borazjan in the Bushehr province on 7 July against local water shortages and the disorderly distribution of freshwater.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city's main square and chanted slogans against local authorities, accusing them of incompetence, water mismanagement, and corruption.
Borazjan's Deputy Governor and the Friday Prayer leader tried to address the crowd, but angered protesters eventually caused them to flee, despite the presence of hundreds of security forces.
[44] In Kamarej, a village near Kazerun located in the Fars province, farmers gathered to protest local water scarcity.
According to state media, the protests were triggered by a decision to remove illegal water pumps from the local river.
In July 2018, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli indicated that Iran intends "to bring these protests to an end as soon as possible with restraint from police and the cooperation of authorities, but if the opposite happens, the judiciary and law enforcement forces will carry out their duties.”[47] In multiple instances, riot police dispersed the crowds with tear gas.
"[13] In reaction to the protests throughout Iran, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the demonstrations "show that the Iranian people are deeply frustrated with their own government’s failures.
They should ensure that all detainees are protected from torture and other ill-treatment and that any held solely for peacefully exercising their right to assembly are released.