Mawlawi Abdul Hamid, an Iranian Sunni preacher, urged the Taliban to resolve the issue of Iran's water rights from the Helmand River. In his Friday prayer sermons, the Iranian cleric said that the water should be divided between Iran and Afghanistan.
Abdul Hamid stressed that the people of Sistan and Baluchistan have the right to draw water from the Helmand river.
Referring to the water issues in the Sistan and Baluchistan region of Iran, Mawlawi Abdul Hamid said that the region enjoys good quality of land, but is left without water and the people suffer due to it.
He said that the Sistan region experiences dust storms and there is no water for agriculture and normal life.
With the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, Iranian authorities have repeatedly demanded Iran's water rights from the Helmand River.
Shortly after taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban announced that they had released water from the Kamal Khan dam and recognised Iran's right to draw water.
Recently, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said that the Taliban have promised to provide Iran with water rights from the Helmand River. Despite the release of water from the Kamal Khan dam by the Taliban, Iran's foreign minister said that the Islamic Republic is not satisfied with the Taliban.
