How this iconic Iran river is threatened by droughts and diversions

A boy jumping across one of the arches of the 295m-long Si-o-Se Pol (33 arches) bridge along the Zayandeh Rood (river) in Isfahan, Iran. The famed river bridges of the Iranian city of Isfahan are a beloved tourist draw. Photos: Atta Kenare/AFP

The famed river bridges of the Iranian city of Isfahan are a beloved tourist draw, but much of the time their stone arches span just sand and rocks, not water.

Drought and upstream water diversions have seen the Zayandeh Rood, “fertile river” in Persian, run dry since 2000, with only rare exceptions.