Amidst the escalation of tensions between Iran and Taliban, Iranian ambassador to Afghanistan, Kazemi Qomi, on Friday warned the Taliban that it will be “responsible for consequences” if it is proven that the Helmand River has enough water and the ruling regime in Kabul is hesitating to provide the neighboring country its water rights.
In a TV interview with a local media outlet, Qomi who is the special representative of Iran’s President for Afghanistan affairs, said that the Taliban should give the water right to Iran – based on the 1973 water treaty between the two countries – within a month.
“If there is water and the Taliban does not allow its flow to Iran, it is full proof for Iran that the issue is the right of the nation and it knows how it should act,” he added.
He added that the delegation’s visit to the Helmand River should be done within a month.
In a statement in response to the remarks of the President of Iran on Thursday, Taliban in a statement said that they are committed to the obligations of the 1973 treaty, but emphasized that the Helmand River does not have enough water.
Taliban said that considering the current situation, they consider Iran’s repeated demands for water rights and “inappropriate” statements in the media as harmful for relations between the two countries.
But Iran’s Foreign Ministry in a statement on Friday, May 19, rejected the reduction of water in the Helmand River and called the Taliban’s statement as “false and contradictory.”
The ministry also emphasized sending a delegation to investigate Helmand River’s water and said that in the absence of the team, it will not accept any comments about the reduction of water in the river.
