Recently, I wrote an article about claims originating from Iran that Israel used the occult against them in their recent war.  Well, the Iranians are at it again.  This time, they are blaming Israel and the USA for the severe water shortage affecting their country.  So, how did the Iranians arrive at this rather bizarre conclusion?  First, some background.

Due to its location in an arid region of the world, it will come as no surprise to anybody that Iran is one of the driest countries on the planet.  This is certainly a major factor when considering the origins of the water crisis, but there are essentially three major factors which have led to this point:-

1. 22% of the country’s 164 million hectares consist of desert and average annual rainfall is only 250mm, which is less than a third of the world average.
2. The average rate of evaporation in Iran is 2,100 mm/year, which is three times the global average of 700 mm/year.
3. In 1976, the population in Iran was around 34 million.  Latest figures indicate the population is around 92.5 million.  The overall population consumes approximately 100 billion cubic metres of water annually.  By comparison, Turkey (which has a similarly sized population) uses only 54 billion cubic metres.

But there are other factors as well – factors that have arisen due to poor decision-making over a period of decades.  In fact, experts warned in 2014 that Iran had 15 years of water left if it did not make radical changes to its water policies.  Although that takes us to 2029, clearly, the water crisis has arrived early.  In addition to ignoring expert advice, the Iranian regime has also been negligent in the following areas:

1. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, in Tehran alone, 30% of the city’s water is lost due to leakages from the city’s aging infrastructure.
2. In the 1 April 2025 edition of the Official Journal of the World Water Council, out of 658,000 water wells in Iran, nearly 320,000 are unauthorised, reflecting a significant problem in the country’s groundwater management system.   
3. A report in Iran International dated 28 June 2022 highlighted the impact the Iranian steel industry has on water security.  To produce every metric ton of steel, the industry in Iran uses 230,000 litres of water. According to official figures, the steel industry uses around 70 percent of water reserves of dams, leaving only 30 percent for other industries, agriculture, and urban use.  Although steels products would have no doubt been used in domestic and commercial applications, there is no doubt that the end product has also been used in its nuclear facilities, drones, and ballistic missiles.

From the evidence provided, there is a clear connection between failed Iranian policy and the availability of domestic and agricultural water.  However, in order to deflect criticism, the Iranian regime is pointing their fingers at Israel and the USA.  On 30 July, 2025, the Iranian water resources expert Mohsen Arbabian said, “Israel and the United States, who claim to have the capability [to cause a drought], and who have been hostile toward us, have been doing this gradually for the past 40 years.”  He followed up by saying, “I say this with confidence, because you can see in satellite images how the clouds shift from their course. I don’t care how many people say that this is normal. I say it is not.”

He is not the first Iranian official to make these claims.  Back in 2011, then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed Western countries were destroying rain clouds to harm Iran.  His theory was that European countries were using “special equipment” to dump rainwater on their continent, leaving nothing for Iran.  He repeated this claim in 2012 when he said, “The enemy destroys the clouds that are headed towards our country and this is a war Iran will win.”  Then, in 2018, Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organisation, said: “Israel and another country in the region have joint teams which work to ensure clouds entering Iranian skies are unable to release rain.”  In addition, he sensationally claimed, “On top of that, we are facing the issue of cloud and snow theft.”  This claim was refuted by the head of Iran’s meteorological service who said that “it is not possible for a country to steal snow or clouds.” 

In the Bible, we see various instances of God withholding rain as a form of punishment, particularly in relation to the sins of Israel.  In Amos 4:7-8, we read: “‘I also withheld rain from you, when there were still three months to the harvest.  I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city.  One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part withered.  So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet you have not returned to Me,’ says the LORD.”

This form of punishment will also exist in the Millennial Kingdom.  Zechariah 14:16-19 notes: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.  And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain.  If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”

The Iranian regime has consistently demonstrated that its core defense against criticism from its citizens is to blame Israel and the West.  This is despite the abundant evidence that failed domestic policies have largely contributed to the current water crisis.  In addition, it is estimated that Iran’s nuclear program cost well over $100 billion.  Clearly, instead of committing significant financial resources towards destroying Israel, it should have invested in water security.  Finally, Iran is blind to one very important detail: the sovereignty of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The Iranian regime set themselves the goal of wiping Israel from the map.  Perhaps the lack of rain and subsequent drought signifies God’s deep displeasure with Iran.

Dean Dwyer serves as a Senior Columnist at Harbinger’s Daily, where his thought-provoking articles engage a global audience of millions. With more than two decades of leadership as Pastor and President of Eiser Street Baptist Church in Toowoomba, Australia, Dwyer brings sophisticated Biblical discernment and analysis to examine world events and issues through the lens of God’s Word.