WATER POLITICS

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Sistan and Balouchestan on Thursday, Raisi delivered a warning to “the Afghan authorities and rulers”, saying they must immediately provide Iran with its share of water.

“I’d remind the rulers of Afghanistan that they should not regard our demand as being ordinary and must take it very seriously,” the president added.

On the speculations that the Kajakai Dam in southern Afghanistan does not contain much water or sludge has piled up in the dam, the president said Afghanistan should allow Iranian experts to observe the situation.

There will be no debate if Iranian technicians confirm that the dam in Afghanistan lacks water, but if there is water, Iran will by no means allow the right of its citizens to be violated, he warned.

Raisi once again urged the Taliban to take the warning seriously and not complain in future that the problem could have been solved through diplomacy and politics.

The president also assured the people of Sistan and Balouchestan that the administration is working hard on a project to transfer water from the Sea of Oman, adding, however, that the plan will be time-consuming.

Iran and Afghanistan have been locked in a protracted dispute over the water of the Hirmand River, which originates in the Hindu Kush Mountains near Kabul and flows 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) south before flowing into Hamoun wetlands, located in Iran’s Sistan and Balouchestan.

The two countries signed a water-sharing accord on the Hirmand River in 1973, under which Afghanistan pledged to deliver an average of 820 million cubic meters of water per annum to Iran.

Iran has repeatedly criticized Afghanistan for failing to honor the agreement in letter and spirit.