The water crisis, as one of the most significant challenges facing urban and regional planning systems in Iran, has become trapped in a vicious cycle of inefficiency and the generation of new problems due to the dominance of physical-engineering approaches. Physical water scarcity in Iran's arid and semi-arid climate, coupled with rapid urbanization, improper industrial location, dam construction without macro-level studies, the conversion of rain-fed to irrigated agriculture, rangeland degradation, and the over-extraction of groundwater, has resulted in a structural crisis of resources and intensified water imbalances. Historical weaknesses in water governance, the emulation of imported policies without adaptation to socio-climatic contexts, and flawed equity orientations that ignore environmental justice and the rights of future generations are among the key factors deepening this crisis. The consequences of the water crisis are not merely physical; they lead to demographic shifts, poverty and unemployment, intensified regional conflicts, eroded social capital, and a decline in life expectancy. Proposed strategies emphasize transitioning from supply-oriented management to demand management, social water policymaking, expanding stakeholder and local community participation, strengthening social learning and enhancing water literacy, establishing conflict-resolution mechanisms and specialized water courts, revising laws with an emphasis on the state's deterrent role and the "polluter-pays" principle, and adopting an integrated approach combining indigenous and modern knowledge with a macro-level perspective in urban and regional planning.