End of sanctions may help Iran face an accelerating environmental crisis

The lifting of sanctions will support positive change quickly if government funds are freed to tackle environmental challenges and if international investment is encouraged in green technology

A trickle of water has returned this winter to Zayandeh Rud (the Zayandeh River) through Isfahan, but it won't last long. When the winter rainfall ends and the snow in the mountains has melted in spring, high demand for water will see the river bed return to the dusty, cracked state to which Isfahanis have become accustomed.

Simultaneously, desertification downstream of Isfahan threatens to spread as farmers struggle to irrigate their crops. In Kerman province, to the east, 15% of around 150,000 acres of pistachio trees in the main producing area have died in the last decade or so.