Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's Special Representative for Afghanistan, has announced that the technical obstacles hindering the allocation of Iran's water rights by the Taliban have been removed.
Qomi expressed hope that in the future, no other technical problems would arise regarding the water rights.
Furthermore, he highlighted the potential for collaboration between Afghanistan and Iran on water supply issues. He emphasised that Afghanistan could emerge as a new option for attracting foreign investment for significant projects in Iran.
Despite not formally recognising the Taliban, Iran maintains close economic and diplomatic ties with the group and Afghanistan's embassy in Tehran has been transferred to Taliban control.
In an interview with Tasnim News Agency, Qomi said, "During the Taliban's rule, the issue of the water rights has been a mandatory treaty and they have declared commitment in this regard from the early days when the new rulers settled in Kabul."
The special representative of Iran has questioned the construction of the Kamal Khan Dam by the previous Afghan government, stating that the insufficient reservoir capacity of the dam has led to the inability to store water, especially during flood conditions, causing the diversion of water to a region known as Goud-e Zareh.
However, Qomi said that the Taliban has resolved this issue.
According to him, one of the measures undertaken by the Taliban in the past year has been to address the ongoing issues with the Kamal Khan Dam.
Iran's Special Representative clarified, "Based on a report provided by the Taliban, repairs have been made to the dam wall, diverting water towards Goud-e Zareh, adjustments have been made to the ground level in front of the dam, and ultimately, the issues with the dam gates have been resolved."
Qomi emphasised that these repairs resulted in a significant development towards the end of the last year [Persian calendar] and at the beginning of this year, following the accumulation of water behind the Kamal Khan Dam, the dam gates were promptly opened, allowing 32 million cubic meters of water to swiftly enter Iranian territory.
