Iranian experts inspect Helmand River situation for first time: envoy

Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, has said that experts, appointed by Tehran, have inspected the water situation in the Helmand River, amid an ongoing dispute over water rights.

IRNA news agency on Sunday cited Qomi as saying that the delegation is currently in Kabul and will soon share its assessment with Tehran.

Mohammad Javanbakht, the Iranian Deputy Minister of Energy for Water Affairs, also announced that the Afghan party accepted Iran’s request for a visit to the Deh Rawood hydrometric station, IRNA reported.

After observing the water level at the Deh Rawood hydrometric station of the Helmand River, the Iranian expert team called on Afghanistan to provide Iran with its share of water and it was agreed that technical committee meetings would decide how to observe Iran’s water rights, Javanbakht said.

Javanbakht also mentioned that in previous years, Iranian commissioners were not allowed to visit the Deh Rawood hydrometric station; however, thanks to diplomatic efforts and coordination by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a delegation consisting of the director general of cross-border rivers of the Ministry of Energy, the head of Sistan and Balochistan Regional Water Authority, and the deputy governor-general of the province visited the Deh Rawood hydrometric station for the first time.

Tensions between Iran and IEA escalated after Tehran accused Kabul of restricting the flow of water to Iran. This came after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned the IEA needs to “honor” Iran’s rights over the Helmand River.

IEA officials have stressed that they are committed to the 1973 water treaty between Iran and Afghanistan, but there is a lack of water due to drought.

Matiullah Abid, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy and Water, said that according to the 1973 water treaty, Iran can visit Deh Rawood station under special circumstances.

He rejected reports suggesting that Iranian experts visited Kamal Khan dam.