The move would deprive the city of drinking water, and increase illness and air pollution – already occurring in the Ahvaz due to the low river level.
The 720km-long Karoon was once the largest river in Iran, but locals blame the regime authorities for a series of rivers in country running dry.
The protesters carried signs that read: “Karun is for Khuzistan”, “I am a farmer, I would not give a drop of water of Karoon”, and “We will save Karoon.”
The river rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, and is joined by tributaries including the Dez and the Kuhrang before passing through Ahvaz, the capital of the Khuzestan Province of Iran, and meeting the Persian Gulf.
In Biblical times, the Karoon was known as the Pishon, one of the four rivers of Eden/Paradise.The protesters emphasized that their gathering is going to be held every week until their demands are met.