Like many countries, Iran has struggled with major water scarcity in recent years. Last summer its capital, Tehran,  came very close to “day zero,” the point when the whole city runs out of drinking water. Now, with the United States at war with Iran, President Donald Trump has further threatened the country’s civilian water infrastructure. 

Dr. Kaveh Madani is a water scientist and the former Deputy Head of the Department of Environment in Iran. He now leads the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. He joins us to talk about his work on the concept of ‘water bankruptcy,’  the new reality that much of the planet is experiencing, and about how conflict is linked to and exacerbated by water scarcity.