Confrontation with Protesters at Zayandeh River Bed; Isfahan’s Atmosphere Reported as Secured
Iranian security forces attacked those who protested against the drying of the Zayandeh River in Isfahan in the early hours of Thursday, setting up tents in the dry riverbed. They set the tents on fire and forcibly removed the protesters from the location.
In protests against mismanagement of water resources by the government, which has caused the Zayandeh River—the most water-abundant river in Iran’s central plateau—to dry up, in addition to farmers seeking their water rights for agriculture, ordinary citizens are also present.
The city of Isfahan has been the scene of one of the largest protest gatherings in the past decade in recent days, and protesting citizens accuse the government of “stealing” the Zayandeh River’s water.
Protesters previously issued a call for widespread public presence at 9 a.m. on Friday and asked everyone to gather at Khaju Bridge and the Zayandeh River bed and surrounding areas to protest the government’s policies in this field.
However, security forces took the initiative to prevent the holding of a large gathering like what occurred last Friday.
Last Friday, thousands of Isfahan residents joined farmers on the twelfth day of protests over water shortage, water supply management, and failure to allocate water rights to farmers, demonstrating by gathering in the Zayandeh River bed.
According to news reports and videos published on social media, the atmosphere in Isfahan on Thursday was highly secured, and some reports indicate the arrest of a number of protesters.
In one of the videos released by the Shargh newspaper’s Twitter account, an Isfahan citizen says sanitation workers at 7 a.m. were cleaning up the remnants of farmers’ tents that had been set on fire the night before.
According to some reports, internet speed has been reduced in some areas and has experienced disruptions in other areas.
Meanwhile, protests by residents of Shahrekord over water shortage have entered their fifth day. In this city, protesters gathered in front of the provincial governor’s office against government water policies and referred to the government as the “water mafia.”
Source: Voice of America
