Afghanistan Peace CampaignSpeaking at a press conference, Raisi note that his country has good relations with all its neighbors and is bound by the Helmand River Water Treaty.
Amid tensions between Kabul and Tehran over the Helmand River’s water supply, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Iranian specialists are looking into the water supply of Sistan and Baluchistan from Afghanistan.
Speaking at a press conference, Raisi note that his country has good relations with all its neighbors and is bound by the Helmand River Water Treaty.
“These negotiations resulted in the dispatch of our expert group, and they (the Islamic Emirate) accepted the expert group to check and see whether the water is sufficient for us to meet the water needs in Sistan and Baluchistan, which is being followed up and investigated,” Raisi added.
In the meantime, Ali Salajegheh, the Vice President of Iran and the head of Iran’s Department of Environment, said in a press conference that the authorities of the Islamic Emirate agreed to pay the country’s water rights from the Helmand River if the conditions in terms of rainfall are suitable, and, according to Salajegheh, Afghanistan also does not have favorable water conditions.
However, the Islamic Emirate said that climate change is to blame for the nation’s current drought and asserted that it is equally committed to the terms of the 1973 pact between the two nations.
“Climatic changes and continuous droughts that have occurred have caused water shortage problems. The Islamic Emirate provides water rights according to the 1973 treaty,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.
“If Iran always blames Afghanistan, I don’t think that would be Afghanistan’s fault because we do not consider it necessary to send a lot of water to another country until the country solves its need for water,” Shaker Yaqoubi, an economist said.
Previously a delegation of Iranian experts traveled to Afghanistan and visited the water meter of Dehravud.
According to the 1973 treaty, Afghanistan is committed to sharing water from the Helmand River with Iran at the rate of 26 cubic meters of water per second, or 850 million cubic meters per annum.