Iran says receiving no water supply from Afghan side of Hirmand River

The supply of water from the Hirmand River in Afghanistan to Iran has been completely cut off for a month, Iran’s Water Sector spokesman says.

Firouz Ghassemzadeh said the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, neighboring Afghanistan, bears the brunt of the water scarcity.

The Taliban have been refusing to allow Iran’s share of water from Hirmand, known as Helmand in Afghanistan, to stream into Iran, blaming drought and technical issues for the low supply of water.

Ghassemzadeh said Iran’s water reserves in the border province have decreased by 69 percent compared to last year, adding only 3 percent of wells in the region are filled with water.

Iran’s Space Agency said images obtained from Iranian satellites show that the Taliban administration is preventing water from reaching the Iranian side of the border by building numerous dams and diverting the flow of water.

Iran says Afghanistan must adhere to the terms of the internationally-binding 1973 Hirmand River water treaty and supply Iran with its share of water from the river.

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