Iran water shortages: Khamenei says protesters not to blame

Top leader’s comments over Khuzestan protests come as media say one person shot dead in neighbouring Lorestan province.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Iranians protesting over water shortages in the country’s drought-hit southwest cannot be blamed, and called on officials to deal with the crisis, according to state media. “The people showed their displeasure … but we cannot really blame the people and their issues must be taken care of,” Khamenei was quoted on Friday by Iranian news agencies as saying, in his first direct mention of the weeklong protests. “Now, thank God, all the various agencies, governmental and non-governmental, are working [to resolve the water crisis] and should continue with all seriousness,” Khamenei said.