Iran rejects UN rights chief’s ‘accusations’

(File photo) UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet.

Iran yesterday rejected “false accusations” by the UN rights chief on protests over water shortages in the country’s southwest, where at least four people have been killed since last week. Khuzestan, Iran’s main oil-producing region and the wealthiest of the country’s 31 provinces, has been gripped by drought since March, with protests erupting in several towns and cities since July 15. Iranian media and officials have said at least three people have been killed, including a police officer and a protester, accusing “opportunists” and “rioters” of shooting at demonstrators and security forces. State television said a fourth person was killed on Thursday and two wounded during “rioting” in the western province of Lorestan, where it said people had taken to the streets “on the pretext of the water problems in Khuzestan”. UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Friday told Iran to address the chronic water shortage in Khuzestan instead of cracking down on protesters. “Shooting and arresting people will simply add to the anger and desperation,” she said, adding that the “catastrophic” situation had been building up for many years.