Water Tension and Verbal Clash between Iranian Authorities and the Taliban

Water tension and verbal confrontation between Iranian and Taliban authorities

According to the 1351 agreement, Afghanistan is supposed to annually provide Iran with 850 million cubic meters of water from the Helmand River. However, the country’s failure to adhere to this agreement over the decades, particularly in recent years, has become a serious challenge between the two countries.

Taliban authorities have claimed that due to the low amount of water, even if the dam is opened, water will not reach Iran.

Hossein Dalirian, the head of Iran’s Space Agency, announced on Friday that the monitoring of the agency indicates that the Afghan government has deviated the water path and created multiple barriers in some areas, preventing the water from Helmand River from reaching Iran.

Kaveh Madani, a renowned water researcher, also stated in a tweet that currently, the volume of water stored in both Kamal Khan and Kajaki dams is higher than last year.

In response to Iran’s complaint about the Helmand River, Ibrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, issued a warning to the Afghan government on Friday, 28th of August. The Taliban group also accused the authorities of the Islamic Republic of being unaware of the situation of this river.