According to a recent report by Iran’s Radio Zamanaeh, the Iranian government is enlisting Armenia’s aid to resolve the rapid drying of Lake Urmia.

Lake Urmia is a salt lake in northwestern Iran near Turkey. It is the largest lake inside Iran and the third biggest salt water lake on earth, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km square (2,000 mile square).

Many Armenians lived in the region up until the 1940’s and 1950’s. Some relocated to Armenia and others to the towns of Tabriz and Tehran. The noted Armenia novelist Raffi (Hakob Melik Hakobian, was born in Payajouk, an Armenian village situated in Salmast province in 1835.

Mohammad Javad Mohammadzadeh, head of Iran’s Environment Protection Organization, announced today that Iran and Armenia have agreed on transferring water from Armenia to counter the critical fall in Lake Urmia’s water levels.

He remarked that hot weather and a lack of precipitation have brought the lake to its lowest water levels ever recorded.

Previously, Iranian authorities had announced a plan to transfer water from the Arax River, which borders Iran and Republic of Azerbaijan. But that country objected, and the 950-billion-touman plan was scrapped.

Armenia and Iran recently signed an agreement to cooperate on environmental projects.