The Iranian Special Representative and Ambassador to Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, has revealed that a delegation of Iranian experts has conducted an assessment of water resources in Helmand province.
In an interview with Iranian Akharin Khabar News Agency on Saturday, Qomi said that the delegation visited the Deh Rawood area in Helmand province, the source of the Helmand River’s water that flows toward Iran.
Qomi added that the delegation is currently in Kabul, preparing a report based on their findings. This is the first time an Iranian delegation has visited the Deh Rawood area to assess the water level of the Helmand River.
Iran’s water rights over the Helmand River have long been a point of dispute between Iran and Afghanistan. In a treaty signed in 1973, Afghanistan committed to the flow of twenty-two cubic meters of water per second into Iran.
In recent months, Iran has complained that the Taliban has not upheld its obligations under the Helmand Treaty. Iran claims to be receiving less than 4% of its entitled water rights from the river.
The Taliban has said that it remains committed to the 1973 treaty which obliges Afghanistan to flow twenty-two cubic meters of water per second into Iran, but cited drought-induced water shortage as the problem.
Iranian lawmaker Feda-Hossein Maleki has recently proposed to close the Taliban’s embassy in Tehran and reduce Iran’s political and commercial ties with the group in order to secure the country’s water rights from the Helmand River.
