IRAN is suffering its biggest drought for almost 50 years, with water shortages affecting around 35 million people, the government has announced.

In a statement on Saturday, a Yazd state spokesman said that 350 villages in the province were suffering water shortages as the crisis deepens.

At least 334 cities across the country have been hit by the shortages, according to Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who told the Iranian parliament last week that nearly half the country will be affected by the water crisis.