Speaking to a group of reporters and experts April 25, Issa Kalantari, the adviser for water, agriculture�and the�environment�to Iran�s vice president, warned that if Iran does not change its approach to�water use, the result�could be mass migration.

According to Shahrvand newspaper, Kalantari, a former minister of agriculture, warned that by continuing to�exploit�97% of Iran's surface water, �Approximately 50 million people,�70% of Iranians,�will have no choice but to leave the country.� He did not offer a timetable on when this would happen but asked, �With the state of our foreign policy, which countries are ready to accommodate 30 to 50 million Iranians?�

Kalantari said that Iran and Egypt are two countries�that due to excessive resource usage�are currently �exposed to a serious crisis.� However, he said that Egypt�s water exploitation is only at 46%, a �big difference� from Iran�s 97%.

 

This article was written by Arash Karami for Al-monitor on April 29, 2015. Arash Karami is the editor of�Al-Monitor's�Iran Pulse and covers the Iranian media for Iran Pulse.

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