Iraq’s Diyala to tackle water crisis in talks with Iran, Kurdistan

Shafaq News – Diyala

The Diyala Provincial Council is set to negotiate with Iran and the Kurdistan Region over water shortage, an Iraqi official announced on Sunday.

The Head of Agriculture Committees in the Council, Raad al-Tamimi, revealed in a press conference that Diyala will take measures to mitigate the crisis, forming committees to travel to Garmian in the Kurdistan Region and to neighboring Iran to negotiate on water issues, increase discharges, and boost the province’s reserves to meet the needs of residents and farmers

He pointed out that the water crisis is worsening day by day across all areas and villages of the province, warning that it will have negative impacts on society and agriculture.

Iraq is facing one of its worst water crises in decades, driven by prolonged drought linked to climate change and major upstream dam projects in Turkiye and Iran that have sharply reduced river flows. These cutbacks, which experts say may violate Iraq’s right to an equitable water share, have depleted reserves, hit agriculture hard, and forced communities—particularly in southern provinces—to abandon traditional livelihoods.