Amid an intensifying heatwave, with several areas recording temperatures of 52°C, the Iranian government announced the closure of offices on Wednesday across at least 13 provinces, including Khuzestan, Hormozgan, and Yazd. In Fars and similar regions, offices will open only in the morning. President Masoud Pezeshkian attributed the crisis to the “mismanagement of water resources in past years”. He also renewed his proposal to move the capital from water-stressed Tehran, cautioning: “If we don’t take urgent and serious measures today, it may be too late tomorrow”.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke last night at a memorial ceremony, framing Western pressure over Iran’s nuclear program, human rights, and scientific development as a pretext for deeper ideological confrontation. He claimed that the real target of the West is Iran’s foundation in religion and knowledge. Khamenei affirmed that Iran will continue advancing across various sectors, asserting that Western pressure will not sway the nation from the independent path it charted more than 46 years ago. This marks Khamenei’s third public address since the war.
Demonstrations took place yesterday in Khomam (Gilan province), outside the city governorate, where residents chanted
slogans such as “Incompetent officials, we don’t want you!” and “Water, electricity, life — our fundamental right!” The protests, sparked by repeated power and water outages, were a response to systemic failures as the regime struggles with worsening environmental crises and governance collapse. Circulating videos on social media show residents condemning their conditions as “humiliating” and “destructive to livelihoods”. Similar protests have erupted in cities including Marvdasht, Torbat-e Jam, Chaypareh, Saveh, and various areas in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. In Neyshabur’s Barzanun village, residents blocked a major road to protest water shortages, while in Chahardangeh, a Tehran suburb, industrial workers and bakers demonstrated against electricity cuts. Security forces reportedly used tear gas against protesters in Sabzevar. Meanwhile, nighttime demonstrations in Tehran and Eslamshahr have increased, with chants directed at Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Belgian-Iranian MP, Darya Safai, alleges that the Iranian regime plotted to abduct her while she was in Belgium, as part of its strategy of “hostage diplomacy”. In a post on X, she revealed: “Today, the Belgian police and security services contacted me regarding an alarming situation concerning my safety. They had received worrying information indicating that the Islamic regime in Iran wants to kidnap me and take me to Tehran”. She further stated that the regime intended to “kidnap, torture, and execute a member of parliament from a European country. Or to use it as a bargaining chip in their hostage diplomacy”.
Iran’s annual inflation rate reached 35.3 %, rising 0.8 percentage points from June, with a 3.5 % month‑on‑month increase. In the free market, the U.S. dollar is trading at approximately 42,113 IRR per USD. Iranian energy officials reported that cryptocurrency mining, including unlicensed operations that consume nearly 2,000 MW of electricity, accounts for approximately 15–20% of the country’s current power deficit.
