Negotiations Between Taliban & Tehran on Water Rights Continue, Says Iranian Official

Ali Akbar Mehrabian, Iran's Minister of Energy, said that Tehran will pursue the water rights issue from Helmand River until the country receives water from Afghanistan.

He stressed that the water rights issue is part of the agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran.

In an interview with Mehr News Agency on Saturday, Mehrabian said that he hopes the Taliban will act upon the Helmand Water Treaty.

In response to the question of whether the Iranian government had held a new round of negotiations with the Taliban on the water rights issue, the Iranian minister said that Helmand water rights is based on an international treaty between Iran and Afghanistan which can’t be changed and the Taliban can’t ignore the treaty.

Iran’s water rights issue from Helmand River has been one of the most controversial issues in the relations between the Islamic Republic and the Taliban in the past two years.

The issue has restrained Iran’s relations with the Taliban and has escalated verbal tensions between the two sides.