Reached Verbal Agreement Over Water Rights With Mullah Baradar, Says Iranian Official

An Iranian official has stated that during the meeting between Iran's Head of Department of Environment and the Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister, a verbal agreement was achieved concerning the water rights from the Helmand River.

Ali Mohammad Tahmasebi, the Department of Environment’s advisor, said that Mullah Baradar, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, promised that the water rights would be given as soon as the conditions are favourable.

Baradar visited Tehran on November 4 and returned to Kabul on November 9.

During a week, he met with several Iranian officials, including the head of Iran's Department of Environment.

According to the report of Iran's Labor News Agency (ILNA), Tahmasebi said that Iranians expect the Taliban not to fail to release the encroachment based on the principles of good neighbourliness and strengthening neighbourly relations.

Simultaneously, he highlighted the disagreement over the allocation of Iran's water rights. He said that the disagreement between Iran and the Taliban pertains to how to distribute the specified 820 million cubic meters.

The Iranian official referred to the 1973 Iran-Afghanistan treaty, emphasising on the need for resolving differences by establishing a joint expert working group.