Iran President Hassan Rouhani issues rare apology for power cuts

In a rare event, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has had to apologise for major blackouts in the country’s major cities such as Tehran.

"We regret the problems the people have had in the past few days," Rouhani said in a televised address. "On the one hand, our output has dropped due to the condition of hydroelectric power plants, and on the other consumption has gone up."

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In a meeting focused on these power cuts specifically, Rouhani claimed that the power cuts have been a result of unbearable heat and the drought-like situation in the country.

His statement has come a week after Iran’s all major cities, including Tehran, started experience frequent and long power cuts. After several complaints to authorities and on social media, officials warned locals that the situation might continue till the end of July.

In addition to the excessive heat, Rouhani blamed the increased "industrial growth" and the crypto mining process for the frequent power outages. While crypto mining has been officially banned in the country since May, local media has reported the existence of a few "illegal farms" in the country.

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Rouhani’s statement has come a little after he declared that Iran was facing an "unprecedented drought" as the average rainfall fell down by 52 per cent compared to the previous year. This brought the hydroelectric power generation to "almost" zero.

While Rouhani explained the situation to the locals, he instructed the energy minister to prevent any cuts outside of the scheduled blackouts of at least two hours a day. "The result is having no capital, and then big projects cannot be done," he told the cabinet. "Who would want to invest when the country's risk goes up?"

However, local media has reported that even though a schedule has been issued for power cuts, many have still faced unscheduled blackouts.