Urmia

Addressing the signing ceremony of the third phase of cooperation document of the UN, Japan and Department of Environment on Urumieh Lake on Tuesday, Lewis said the UN has identified five areas of cooperation with Iran in the field.

Even if there is precipitation in the desert, there will be no yield, because the area for groundwater will be dried and water will remain at ground level and evaporate.'' Kalantari added: "All the bodies of natural water in Iran are drying up: Lake Urumieh, Bakhtegan, Tashak, Parishan and others.'' Kalantari concluded that the "deserts in Iran are spreading, and I am warning you that South Alborz and East Zagros will be uninhabitable and people will have to migrate.

AFP quotes witnesses as saying that anti-government protests were also held in the cities of Urumieh, Qazvin and Bojnurd, and that several people were injured.

The others (e.g., the Society of Urumieh Zoroastrians, the Association of Graduates of Japanese Universities, Borujen's Islamic Cultural Group, and Lawyers for Human Rights) were at best no more than provincial or professional clubs representing some new fledgling civil groups.