Can Iran and Iraq cooperate to avert local environmental disaster?

Hur al-Azim Wetland, the largest lagoon in the southwest of Iran, is drying up. The scenes are apocalyptic.

Khuzestan is a southwestern province of Iran, on the border of Iraq. It is home to 80% of Iran’s oil, 60% of its gas, and also to around one third of a once-vast body of water: the Hur al-Azim Wetland. The rest is situated over the border in Iraq.

Historically, the shores of this wetland have hosted buffaloes, flamingos and diverse plant species. Local …