Isa Bozorgzadeh, the spokesperson for Iran's Water Organisation, announced that negotiations between officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Taliban regarding water rights have "entered a new phase”.
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Bozorgzadeh stated, "Iran's demand is for the Kamal Khan Dam to be re-engineered."
The Iranian official said that the overflow from the side dam on the Afghan side annually wastes billions of cubic meters of water during floods and keeps it out of reach of the Afghan people as well.
He noted that this process leads to the drying up of the region, exacerbating dust storms and environmental disasters.
According to IRNA, Bozorgzadeh suggested to the Taliban that they should "seize the opportunity and define joint projects to reduce the suffering of the people in the region who are under the pressure of a weak economy and dust storms”.
Previously, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's special representative in Afghanistan, had confirmed in June this year that over 300 million cubic meters of Iran's water rights had been provided by Afghanistan.
However, Kazemi Qomi mentioned that due to the unmodified crest of the Kamal Khan Dam, some of the water diverted to the salt flats, resulting in part of Iran's water rights not being fulfilled.
