Excessive Water Extraction Sinks Land, Threatens Historic Esfahan
Extraction of underground water around Esfahan, which Iranians call "half the world," is threatening the city's historical monuments and international airport.
Extraction of underground water around Esfahan, which Iranians call "half the world," is threatening the city's historical monuments and international airport.
Some environmental activists have claimed the airport's tower is now leaning "like the tower of Pisa," which inclines 10 degrees. In fact, the tower has reportedly tilted 3 degrees, hardly noticeable by the naked eye or in photos.
There are photos on social media of cracks in the ground around the airport, and of hollows in and around Esfahan’s historical buildings and monuments.
Environmental activists have also in a letter to the Deputy Prosecutor-General Reza Khoshnudi demanded the prosecution of those responsible for what they call an “environmental disaster” befalling the city and its residents
Director-General of the Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of sfahan Province, Reza Eslami, on Monday told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) that surveys were underway to assess structures at the airport including gas and fuel pipes and declined to offer immediate comment on the tower.
Eslami said expedient measures were urgently needed, and that if water extraction continued at the same volume land subsistence would affect airports, power plants, and refineries. "There will be no Esfahan in such circumstances," he suggested.
Land subsidence is not limited to Esfahan and its surrounding plain. In many other areas in Iran cracks and huge hollows that resemble meteor craters have appeared in the ground in recent years. Ali Saberi, a geologist told local media that one million hectares of land in the country is affected by subsidence and the main cause is unlimited extraction of ground water.
Land subsidence − which can occur for many reasons including human activities like mining, extracting underground water, petroleum, or gas − is a growing problem in many other places including Mexico City where a growing population of 10 million has resulted in the exhaustion of underground water resources.
The problem of land subsidence in Esfahan has been exacerbated by recurrent droughts in recent decades and the use of underground water and rivers by agriculture and industries. Esfahan's famous Zayandeh Rud, the largest river in central Iran, has for years run dry most of the year. Farmers in Esfahan province have protested they are not receiving a due share of the river's waters, which is being used by other provinces.
Some blame the water situation on an emphasis in achieving self-sufficiency in agriculture, including water-intensive crops such as rice and other grains, which was the aim of many governments even before United States ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 2000 and 2001, promoted an increase in population and self-sufficiency in wheat and rice as the main goal of agriculture.
Haydar Aliyev was father of Azerbaijan’s current president Ilham Aliyev who lately has a tense relationship with Tehran.
Mohsen Hashemi-Rafsanajani who oversees the publication of his late father's memoires, in a note in Shargh newspaper Sunday said that during a Central Asia visit by the two presidents in 1993 and at the height of the first Nagorno-Karabakh War, Aliyev urged Iran to support his country in the war against Armenia and even suggested the administration of his country by Iran.
The Iranian president doubted Aliyev's sincerity and insisted that Iran would remain neutral in the war, his son said. Aliyev's suggestion was later put to discussion at the Supreme National Security Council where the president's decision to avoid direct Iranian involvement in the war was approved.
Mohsen Hashemi-Rafsanjani has cited several entries from his father's memoires, including an entry from 23 October in which the late president said in a phone call with Aliyev he pleaded for help. "They openly say they will put the entire Azerbaijan at our disposal and are ready for the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Azerbaijan," the memoire entry says, adding: "[They say] without Iran's assistance we cannot defend [our country] and there is a possibility of Armenians reaching Baku."
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani media are also making accusations against Iran. In a commentary by Azerbaijani journalist Bahram Batyev Saturday accused Iran of violating Azerbaijani territory and helping the Armenian side with intelligence on Azerbaijani troop movements during last year's war.
This is the first time such a claim is made, although Iran showed concern last year during the Armenia-Azerbaijan war, caught between its desire not to see any geopolitical change but feeling pressed to support Azerbaijan's effort to regain lost territories.
Calling Iran a neighbor that was smiling in Azerbaijan's face while holding a knife behind its back, Batyev claimed that on October 18, 2020 when Azerbaijani forces took over the village of Khudaferin (Khoda Afarin in Persian) and were advancing towards Zangilan, the Iranian military "shamelessly invaded" the territory of Azerbaijan and erected concrete barriers in their way, claiming that they meant to protect the Khudaferin Dam.
Baku protested to Tehran through diplomatic channels and threatened to publicly announce what Batyev called "Iran's betrayal".
The standoff between the two militaries ended a day later after the Iranian military attaché's urgent visit to the region and withdrawal of the Iranian troops "after a day of tense negotiations". Batyev said and alleged that Iran also relayed the movements of Azerbaijani forces, which they could easily see from across the border, to the Armenians.
Iran and its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei welcomed the liberation of Azerbaijani territory in a televised speech but concerns over "geopolitical changes" in the region which could block Iran's direct transit path to Armenia were raised subtly by the media. Last week Khamenei warned about Israel's interference or military presence in Azerbaijan in another televised speech and warned Azerbaijan amid tensions over military drills in the region.