Pakistan, Nov. 15 -- Hundreds of residents gathered at Emamzadeh Saleh mosque in northern Tehran on Friday to pray for rain, as Iran faces one of its worst droughts in decades. The capital has recorded its lowest rainfall in a century, and half of the country's provinces have seen no significant precipitation for months.

In response to severe water shortages, authorities have implemented periodic cuts to water supplies for Tehran's 10-million residents to curb consumption. At the mosque, men and women prayed in separate areas in accordance with Islamic practice, appealing for relief from the parched conditions.

Tehran, located on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountains, usually relies on autumn rains and winter snowfall to replenish...