Green Daily

How War Is Making Iran’s Water Crisis Worse

Also: Green cement startup Sublime Systems lays off two-thirds of its workers.

Iranians collect water from the salt-encrusted lakebed of Iran’s shrinking Lake Urmieh in 2015.Photographer: Scott Peterson/Getty Images

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By Laura Millan, Eric Roston, Akshat Rathi, and Emma Court

March 12, 2026 at 12:54 PM UTC

Iran has numerous vulnerabilities in its war with the US and Israel. One of its biggest might be its water system. Already strained by a multiyear drought, any damage to Iran’s water infrastructure would be a devastating blow.

Today’s newsletter looks at how Iran’s water crisis got so bad and how climate change is impacting one of the most arid parts of the world. Plus, a scoop about green cement startup Sublime Systems laying off two-thirds of its workforce.