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On March 25, 2025, Iranian regime president Masoud Pezeshkian staged a photo-op visit to Lake Urmia
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In what was intended as a show of concern for the environment, Iranian regime president Masoud Pezeshkian instead exposed the depth of corruption and systemic failure that has brought Lake Urmia—once one of the largest saltwater lakes in the world—to the brink of total collapse.
During a highly publicized visit on March 25, Pezeshkian questioned why the 27 approved restoration projects for Lake Urmia had not been implemented in previous administrations. What may have seemed like a gesture of accountability was widely interpreted as a veiled admission of institutionalized incompetence and looting by the regime itself. Observers noted that the question only highlighted the long-standing financial theft and environmental mismanagement that have plagued the regime’s response to Iran’s ecological crises.
In comments carried by ISNA, Pezeshkian called for expert collaboration—including from international sources—and expressed hope that increased rainfall would help revive the lake. But environmentalists and political analysts alike criticized his remarks as empty rhetoric, pointing to the real culprits behind the lake’s decline: decades of unregulated dam construction, particularly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the diversion of water resources for regime-connected agricultural and industrial projects.
“Lake Urmia didn’t dry up because of nature—it was systematically strangled by corruption,” one analyst remarked. Billions in public funds earmarked for restoration were siphoned off or wasted, while IRGC-linked infrastructure projects cut off the lake’s natural water inflows, sealing its fate. Pezeshkian’s deflection toward previous governments, critics argue, is a familiar tactic among regime officials trying to distance themselves from the damage wrought by the very system they represent.
#Iran's Regime Infighting Escalates as Rival Factions Clash Over Power, Corruption, and Policy Failureshttps://t.co/tlsz80vGAA
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 8, 2025
Pezeshkian’s remarks coincided with several other high-profile acknowledgments of systemic collapse within the regime. On March 24, Majid-Reza Hariri, head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, revealed that $25 billion in goods are smuggled into Iran annually, calling corruption “systemic” and warning that “if we don’t seal the holes in this ship, we’ll all sink.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Statistical Center confirmed continued inflationary pressure, with essential food items—such as Iranian rice (+14.3%), pinto beans (+27.7%), and lamb (+3.5%)—rising sharply in March 2025. These price hikes follow a broader food inflation rate of 41%, which now surpasses the official national average of 37.1%. State media warns that overall inflation may exceed 50% by mid-2025, putting Iran among the world’s most unstable economies.
In the energy sector, Arash Najafi, head of the Energy Commission of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, described the Iranian year of 1403 as a year of “historic failures,” noting that gas, electricity, and fuel shortfalls cost the Iranian economy over $6 billion in industrial losses. He criticized the regime’s energy strategy as crisis-driven and reactive, resulting in widespread outages and halted production.
#Iranian Regime’s Shadowy Deals with #China Highlight Corruption and Sanctions Evasionhttps://t.co/iTglfofTrA
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 7, 2024
In yet another revealing moment from inside the regime, a former member of Iran’s parliament recently acknowledged a multi-billion-dollar oil theft, stating that $4.6 billion in oil export revenue never returned to the country. According to Gholamali Imenabadi, $2.2 billion of that missing amount is tied to a single politically connected individual—an “Aghazadeh” (elite offspring) who reportedly controls 32 oil tankers. This admission comes amid intensifying infighting among regime factions and follows growing scrutiny over state-run fuel smuggling operations.
Adding to the public burden, municipal authorities in Robat Karim announced a 45% increase in public transport fares at the start of the new year, a move that sparked further backlash as household purchasing power continues to erode under mounting economic pressure.
For many Iranians, Pezeshkian’s visit to Lake Urmia has become symbolic: not of environmental concern, but of the regime’s hollow displays of accountability and the absurdity of relying on rainfall to fix the consequences of state-sanctioned looting. In a country where even regime insiders now admit to “systemic” corruption, Pezeshkian’s awkward performance served only to reinforce what millions already know—the clerical dictatorship is not a victim of crisis; it is the architect of it.