Iran reiterates claim on shared water resources with Afghanistan

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran has reiterated its claim over disputed shared water resources with neighboring Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Monday that he discussed the dispute with his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in Uzbekistan.

The top diplomat tweeted that he "emphasized in detail" the issue of Iran's claim on the Hirmand River.

The Afghan side, he added, "also emphasized its commitment to Iran's water rights" and both sides "agreed to take immediate action" in this regard.

The two chief diplomats met on the sidelines of a conference in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on Thursday to review the situation in Afghanistan and cooperation with the de facto Taliban administration in the capital Kabul.

The two neighbors have been entangled in a longstanding dispute over shared water resources, with Tehran accusing Kabul of restricting the flow of water from the Hirmand River by constructing dams over it.

Originating in the Hindu Kush Mountains near Kabul, the river covers a distance of 1,127 kilometers (700 miles) south before streaming into the Hamoun wetlands in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province.

According to a 1973 water-sharing accord, Afghanistan was required to allow an average of 820 million cubic meters of water per annum to Iran.

Last July, Amir-Abdollahian warned his Afghan counterpart that the unresolved water dispute could affect cooperation between the two countries, describing it as an “important index” of the Taliban government’s commitments.

It came after President Ebrahim Raisi asked the Foreign Ministry and Energy Ministry to “seriously pursue” what he called Iran’s “water rights” from Afghanistan.

Iran shared close relations with the Taliban before it swept to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Since then, relations have been marred by frequent border skirmishes as well as the lingering water dispute.