Iranian paper says supporters of interaction with Taliban should be held accountable over water row with group

Iran’s Jomhouri Eslami newspaper, in an article, has slammed proponents of interaction with the Taliban in Afghanistan as a water dispute with the group escalates.

The paper said supporters of interaction with the Taliban should now be held to account over their stance.

The paper said these people handed over the Afghan embassy to the militants in total disregard for the nature of the group.

Jomhouri Eslami said no one should be deceived by “divisions of the Taliban into the good and the bad Taliban”, saying all of them “are cut from the same cloth”.

The water row is rooted in what Iranian officials say is the Taliban’s failure to release the share of Iran from the water of Helmand River that flows from Afghanistan into Iran.

The officials say the Taliban have diverted part of the river’s water and constructed dams to prevent the portion that normally flows into Iran from reaching the country’s territory in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

This has led to drought in the southeastern Iranian province and has pushed officials, including President Ebrahim Raeisi, to warn the Taliban of consequences if they fail to release Iran’s share of Helmand’s water.

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