Ali Salajegheh, Iranian Vice-President and head of the country’s Department of Environment, said that despite the Taliban accepting the Helmand water treaty, the group has released only 15 million cubic meters of water to the country.
According to Salajegheh, the Taliban has not accepted Iran’s repeated calls to engage in dialogue on the issue.
According to 1973 water treaty between Iran and Afghanistan, annually Afghanistan is legally obligated to release 820 million cubic meters of water from the Helmand River to Iran.
According to Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), Salajegheh told reporters on Wednesday, "We have requested the Afghan ruling body to hold a meeting several times, but unfortunately they did not accept it. In addition, the Minister of Energy was mandated by the government to follow up on the issue."
The Iranian Vice-President stressed that there is enough water in Afghanistan and that the Taliban must release 850 million cubic meters of water to Iran every year.
The head of Iran's Department of Environment emphasised that the Taliban must comply with the 1973 water treaty between the two countries.
Referring to the rainfall in Afghanistan, he added that enough water has entered the Helmand River and he hopes that the Taliban will allow this water to pass through the Kamal Khan Dam so that it does not go in another direction.
