President Raeisi warns Afghanistan over Iran’s water share from Hirmand

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi on Thursday urged the ruling administration in Afghanistan to “swiftly” supply Iran with its share of water from the Hirmand River, also known as Helmand.

Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of a number of water and electricity projects in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, which borders Afghanistan, President Raeisi warned that Tehran will in no way tolerate a rights violation of the province’s people.

He said the right of the people of Sistan and Baluchestan to Hirmand water has been enshrined in previous treaties, and the issue is not related to a specific period.

“I tell the Afghan rulers not to take my remarks lightly and take them very seriously,” he asserted. “I warn the authorities and rulers of Afghanistan to swiftly fulfill the right of the people of Sistan and Baluchestan Province and the Sistan region.”

“They (Afghan officials) should know that the [Iranian] government is determined to uphold the people’s rights in all fields. It is the right of the province’s people, and we follow it up in all border areas. As the government, we will not allow people’s rights to be violated.”

The Hirmand River, the longest watercourse in Afghanistan, rises in the Hindu Kush Mountains west of Kabul and flows in an arc southwest until it empties out into the Hamoun wetlands, located in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

Following more than a century of rifts over Hirmand’s water supply, Iran and Afghanistan signed a treaty in 1973 to establish a means of regulating each country’s use of the river.

Iran should receive an annual share of 820 million cubic meters from Hirmand under the accord, which Afghanistan has grossly violated in letter and spirit, endangering the lives of many Iranians who rely on Hamoun wetlands for drinking water, agriculture, and fishing.

Afghanistan has also built dams on the Hirmand which have constricted the water flow into Iran.