FM Zarif Tells Parliament:

Afghanistan Undertook to Release Iran’s Water Share

Date: 06 May 2018 - 21:32

News ID: ۵۲۶۳۴

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif said here Sunday Afghanistan has pledged to let Iran have its share of water from Hirmand  river.
He also said the two neighbors have for the first time reached agreements on the legal regime of Harirud river.
Although there are various options to secure Iran’s share of water, including strict policies towards Afghanistan in certain areas, relations between Tehran and Kabul have always been brotherly and friendly, Zarif said.
The two neighbors, he said, have agreed to set up five committees to handle various bilateral issues, including disputes over the water share.
Zarif said the foreign ministry sent two protest letters to Afghanistan in March and April to remind Kabul of Iran’s rights under a 1973 treaty.
Iran and Afghanistan disagree on the allocation of water from Hirmand as both countries suffer from protracted droughts.
Iran’s Energy Ministry says Afghanistan has breached a bilateral treaty after refusing to release Iran’s share of the water from Hirmand.
Under the treaty, Afghanistan is obliged to release 26 cubic meters of water per second for drinking and irrigation in Iran.
Over the past two decades, the fertile Hamoon wetlands which were fed by Hirmand have substantially dried up.
The Taliban closed the sluices at Kajaki dam, in Helmand, choking off water to Iran from 1998 to 2001.
This compounded the impact of the worst drought the region has experienced in many decades, caused in part by climate change and warming temperatures.