CITIZENS NEWS

Iran deploys risky cloud seeding chemicals in desperate bid to end historic drought

By isabelle // 2025-11-17

• Iran is using cloud seeding to combat its worst drought in 50 years.
• Rainfall is 89% below average and key reservoirs are nearly empty.
• The government warns Tehran could face evacuation without rain.
• Iran had previously accused Israel and the UAE of stealing its rain.
• This geoengineering carries major unknown environmental risks.

Iran has turned to manipulating its skies in a desperate attempt to combat its worst drought in 50 years. With rainfall plummeting a shocking 89 percent below long-term averages and reservoirs shrinking to single-digit capacities, authorities have launched cloud seeding operations, spraying chemicals into the air to forcibly wring moisture from the clouds. This drastic measure, reported by state media, highlights a nation on the brink, with President Masoud Pezeshkian issuing a chilling warning that Tehran could face evacuation if rain does not arrive before winter. This is not a simple weather story. It is a cautionary tale about humanity’s hubris in attempting to engineer nature. Cloud seeding involves dispersing particles, typically silver iodide and salt, into clouds from aircraft. The theory is that these particles provide a nucleus for water vapor to condense around, artificially inducing precipitation. While Iran claims to have developed its own technology for this practice, the long-term consequences of such geoengineering remain dangerously unknown. The immediate desperation is undeniable. The primary target for the first cloud seeding flight was the basin of Lake Urmia, once the Middle East’s largest lake. Today, it is a vast, dry salt bed, a grim monument to the region’s escalating water crisis. Officials from the National Cloud-Seeding Research Center have stated these operations will continue until mid-May, using both airplanes and drones whenever suitable cloud systems appear.

A history of weather warfare accusations

This push for weather control carries a dark historical echo. In 2018, Brig. Gen. Gholam Reza Jalali, a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made a startling accusation. He stated, "Both Israel and another country - the UAE - are working to make Iranian clouds not rain." At that time, the UAE was actively pursuing its own cloud seeding program. This paranoia over weather being used as a weapon now sees Iran adopting the very same controversial technology it once decried. The risks of such climate engineering are profound and largely unquantified. Tampering with atmospheric chemistry can have unintended and far-reaching consequences, potentially disrupting natural weather patterns in neighboring regions and causing unpredictable ecological side effects. Introducing substances like silver iodide into ecosystems is a large-scale experiment with outcomes that scientists do not fully understand. The situation on the ground is dire. The head of Iran’s National Centre for Climate and Drought Crisis Management, Ahmad Vazifeh, confirmed that dams supplying water to major provinces are in a "worrying state." The visual evidence is jarring; images show the gritty, grey, and empty basin of the Amirkabir dam, while rusted boats lie stranded on the former shores of Lake Urmia.

The human cost of desperation

The human response to this crisis speaks volumes. Hundreds of citizens have gathered at mosques, including the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, to participate in traditional prayers for rain. This spiritual appeal stands in sharp contrast to the technological intervention their government is now pursuing, illustrating a population caught between faith and a forced scientific fix for a problem that has been decades in the making. While the United Arab Emirates and other nations have also employed cloud seeding, its efficacy is still debated by scientists. What is not debatable is that these programs are a symptom of a deeper failure to manage water resources sustainably. They represent a quick technological fix that ignores the need for long-term conservation and environmental stewardship. The Iranian government’s plan to penalize households and businesses for excessive water consumption, while perhaps necessary, feels like a feeble response to a systemic collapse. When a nation’s largest lake has vanished and its capital faces potential evacuation, the problem extends far beyond individual usage. Ultimately, Iran’s cloud seeding program is a terrifying gamble. It is the act of a regime, and indeed a global community, that would rather attempt to play god with the atmosphere than confront the difficult truths of resource management and ecological limits. This desperate grasp for control over the weather may provide temporary relief, but it sets a dangerous precedent, opening a new chapter where the sky itself is no longer a natural resource, but a contested battlefield for geoengineering experiments. Sources for this article include: ArabNews.com CNN.com BBC.co.uk

Iran starvation food supply geoengineering dangerous climate harvest cloud seeding climate engineering environ weather terrorism