Iran says ‘reserves’ right to act on Afghan water dispute

TEHRAN: Iran said on Friday it “reserves” the right to take action as a dispute with Afghanistan escalates over an upstream river dam that restricts the flow of water into the country.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its rights to take necessary measures and emphasises the full responsibility of Afghanistan in this regard,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, without specifying the measures.

But it also accused Afghan authorities of not meeting their obligations in providing Iran with its “water rights” from the Helmand River as enshrined in a 1973 agreement.

“In practise, the rulers of Afghanistan have not honoured the commitments under the treaty and have not offered the necessary cooperation in supplying Iran´s legal water rights,” the ministry said.

The Helmand River flows from the mountains of the central Afghan province of the same name for more than 1,000-km into Lake Hamoun, which straddles the Afghanistan-Iran border.

“Non-implementation of the treaty and non-provision of Helmand water rights by Afghanistan and issuing political statements without practical action are not acceptable in any way,” Iran´s foreign ministry said.

It also rejected as “contradictory and false” a statement by Afghan ruling authorities on Thursday that blamed lack of precipitation for a halt to the flow of water to Iran.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet that Kabul was “committed to fulfil its obligations” but argued that due to “severe drought” the water levels have decreased.

He added that the “inappropriate statements” made by Iran in this regard can harm ties between the two countries and “should not be repeated”. Mujahid was referring to a warning issued by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit Thursday to the drought-stricken southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.