Iranian lawmaker urges action against Taliban as water rift looms

An Iranian lawmaker has called for retaliatory measures against the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan in response to their failure to secure Iran’s water share from the Helmand River.

Fadahossein Maleki, who represents the people of Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, bordering Afghanistan, warned that the Islamic Republic would have to put the options of retaliatory measures on its agenda.

He stressed that retaliation does not mean war with the Taliban, adding that Tehran ought to reconsider its relations with them.

“We have different tit-for-tat ways to deal with the Taliban. We provide both water and electricity to our neighboring provinces in Afghanistan”, said the Iranian lawmaker.

He went on to say that the Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to implement some options against the Taliban.

The Taliban have been refusing to allow Iran’s share of water from Helmand to stream into Iran and have caused a drought in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan which is located in a hot and dry region and receives low rainfall compared to other regions in the country.

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