Iranian Water and Meteorology Expert:

"Israel and the United States have the capability to create droughts; they have been waging a meteorological war against Iran for 40 years."

He revealed satellite data showing that cloud formations originating from the Mediterranean were supposed to enter Iran but suddenly veered off course.

"I don't care how many people claim this is normal. I say it's not. Lake Urmia has already dried up."

This post cites an Iranian expert’s assertion accusing the U.S. and Israel of using 'meteorological warfare' to induce droughts, claiming satellite evidence shows abnormal cloud deviations leading to the desiccation of Lake Urmia. This narrative attributes Iran’s severe ecological crisis to secret weapons wielded by external forces, reflecting a non-traditional interpretation of natural disaster causes amid prolonged geopolitical confrontation. While such accusations are striking, they currently lack publicly available scientific evidence, and are more likely viewed as part of information warfare.

For years, Iranian officials or semi-official figures have repeatedly made similar claims—accusing others of "stealing clouds"—whenever droughts occur. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad raised comparable allegations as early as 2011; since 2018, commanders of the Revolutionary Guard have also frequently accused Israel of "stealing clouds and snow."

Professional analyses suggest that Iran’s extreme drought crisis results from a combination of long-term climate change and serious internal policy failures:

These analyses indicate that since the 1970s, Iran’s national average annual temperature has risen nearly 2°C, increasing evaporation rates to almost three times the global average. Research clearly quantifies that human-induced climate change has increased the likelihood of drought in this region by 10 to 25 times.

The most direct and critical cause lies in poor internal management—Lake Urmia’s desiccation being a prime example. The lake has lost 95%–97% of its surface area (based on 2025 data), driven by policy chaos:

  Frenzied dam construction and water diversion: The government built dams at an unprecedented scale—from 316 in 2012 to 647 by 2018—diverting vast amounts of river water that should have flowed into the lake.

  Uncontrolled agricultural water use: Agriculture consumes over 90% of Iran’s water resources, with extremely low efficiency. The forced promotion of high-water-demand crops like sugar beets has intensified excessive water extraction.

Iran’s water crisis is a convergence of natural disaster (climate change) and human-made catastrophe (policy failure). Blaming external "meteorological warfare" constitutes an extreme political propaganda narrative. While such accusations may serve to deflect blame, they do nothing to address any real problems.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863582959774732/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.