TEHRAN, Nov 9, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Water levels at the dam reservoirs supplying Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad plunged below three percent, media reported Sunday, as the country suffers from severe water shortages.

"The water storage in Mashhad's dams has now fallen to less than three percent," Hossein Esmaeilian, the chief executive of the water company in Iran's second largest city by population, told ISNA news agency.

He added that "the current situation shows that managing water use is no longer merely a recommendation -- it has become a necessity."