Iran warns Taliban against failure to comply with water deal

The Cradle

The Taliban-led interim government recently pledged to uphold Iran’s water rights agreement according to the 1973 agreement

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has issued a warning to the Taliban that their failure to share water from the Helmand River would hinder cooperation between Tehran and Kabul.

“Providing Iran with its share of water is an important index for assessing the adherence of Afghanistan’s caretaker government to its international commitments to Iran,” the foreign minister said to his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone conversation on 29 July.

Amir-Abdollahian also commented on the recent rains which have replenished the river’s water supply. He said that, following the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, Tehran now needs the removal of obstacles that are blocking the flow of water through Iran’s borders.

He explained that the people of Baluchestan and Sistan province are severely affected by lack of access to water, and that  removing obstacles to the flow of water would provide much needed relief.

Amir-Abdollahian said that a high-ranking official from Iran’s Ministry of Energy is set to travel to Afghanistan to resolve the problem of the water flow.

He also highlighted Iran’s wish for its businesspeople to participate in and help improve the economy of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi responded by saying that Afghanistan is committed to providing Iran with its water rights, saying: “Whenever there is water, we will allow it to flow toward Iran.”

Iran and Afghanistan are currently seeking to strengthen cooperation efforts in reviving an area of wetlands crucial to the water needs of both countries.

Helmand River was once a vast source of water for both Iran and Afghanistan. The Hamoun Wetlands, into which the Helmand River pours, sustained a wide biodiversity of plants and animals.

Over recent years, however, the wetlands have shrunk in size, drying up due to the effects of climate change, poorly planned dam construction, and mismanagement.

The Taliban-led interim government recently pledged to uphold Iran’s water rights according to the 1973 agreement.

In line with the water deal, Iran should receive 820 million cubic meters of water from the Helmand River.

Back in January, hundreds of farmers in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan gathered outside the Afghan Consulate General in Milak on the Iran-Afghanistan border to protest Afghanistan’s delay in releasing the waters of the Helmand River.

The demonstration turned violent, however, with some farmers causing damage to trucks stationed at the border crossing, which led to the involvement of Iranian border guards.