Iran is facing a severe water shortage, which has triggered prolonged protests and regional unrest in the country. It currently appears that the Middle Eastern nation has found itself in deep trouble with no end in sight. In November, thousands of Iranians gathered in a dried-up riverbed in the city of Isfahan in the central part of the country to protest against what they consider to be the unfair distribution of water. Over the last four decades, numerous dams and barrages have been built in Iran in a bid to generate more electricity, thereby diverting water needed by others to various unsustainable industrial sectors. As rainfall in Iran (as well as in the Middle East and North Africa) has decreased, while the country continues to prioritise water-intensive industries, farmers who are seeing their access to water restricted are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the situation.