Drought is one of the most complex hydro climatic hazards, with impacts that vary considerably across temporal and spatial scales. This study investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics and temporal trends of meteorological drought in Lorestan Province, western Iran, using the Simplified Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SSPEI) at 1-, 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, and 24-month accumulation periods during 2000–2024. The SSPEI was calculated using the Box-Cox transformation of climatic water-balance series, while drought events were characterized using run theory in terms of duration, cumulative severity, mean intensity, and frequency. Temporal trends were evaluated using the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator. The results reveal distinct timescale-dependent drought behavior, with shorter accumulation periods showing more frequent and rapid fluctuations, whereas longer accumulation periods identify more persistent cumulative dry conditions. Run-theory analysis further indicates substantial spatial and temporal variability in drought-event characteristics. For example, at the Kuhdasht station, an SSPEI-24 event reached a duration of 15 months in 2008, illustrating the persistence of long-timescale drought conditions. In contrast, SSPEI-1 events were generally shorter and more frequent. Trend analysis indicates that significant positive trends occurred at the SSPEI-1 scale at Doroud, Kuhdasht, and Nourabad (p < 0.05), whereas trends at longer accumulation periods were generally not statistically significant. Overall, the results demonstrate that drought risk in Lorestan is strongly dependent on accumulation timescale and location. This finding highlights the importance of multi-timescale monitoring for regional drought assessment and water-resources management.