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Iranian FM says IEA affirm Iran’s rights to Helmand water

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(Last Updated On: April 25, 2023)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has acknowledged Iran’s right to water from the Helmand River.

In an interview with IRNA, Abdollahian said the Iranian Foreign Ministry engaged in serious discussions with the IEA over the past 18 months on this issue.

He said: “In my recent negotiations with the caretaker of Afghanistan Foreign Ministry, too, I pursued the issue of Iran’s right of the Helmand River.”

Monday’s discussion with IRNA comes a week after Abdollahian tweeted that he discussed the water issue with his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi while they were both in Uzbekistan.

“In my recent talks with Mr Muttaqi, acting Foreign Minister of the de facto government of Afghanistan in Samarkand city, we emphasized the issue of Iran’s claim on the Helmand River in detail.”

He continued by saying the Afghan side “also emphasized its commitment to Iran’s water rights,” and both sides “agreed to take immediate action” in this regard, he said in a tweet.

Iran and Afghanistan signed a Helmand River water-sharing agreement in 1973, under which Afghanistan would provide Iran with 22 cubic meters of water per second with the option to purchase an additional four cubic meters per second for “goodwill and brotherly relations.”

Nine months ago, the IEA was adamant that they are committed to Iran’s water rights according to the 1973 treaty and said there will not be a new accord in this regard.

Mujeeb-ur-Rahman Omar, deputy minister of energy and water, said at the time that the ministry is committed to the national interests of the country.

“There will be no new agreement with Iran on water rights. The 1973 treaty is enforceable and it will be pursued,” Omar said.

According to the official, 70 percent of Afghanistan’s waters flow into neighboring countries. He said that work on incomplete dam projects will resume.

“We have plans to manage the country’s waters and we will take steps in this regard. Drought is threatening our country,” Omar said.

Iran has strongly opposed Afghanistan’s damming of its transboundary rivers. It has accused Kabul of denying it of its water rights.

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Contract worth $53 million signed for construction of last section of Khaf–Herat railway

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

A contract worth $53 million was signed Thursday for the construction of the last section of Khaf-Herat railway that connects Afghanistan with Iran.

The contract was signed between Afghanistan Railway Authority and Gamma Group in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, his office said in a statement.

The segment is 47-kilometer long, stretching from Rabat Parian to Herat International Airport and the Industrial Town, according to the statement.

It added that completion and standard operational readiness are expected within approximately two years.

“Upon its completion, this segment will integrate the Khaf-Herat regional connectivity project with Iran’s significant seaports and facilitate access to Europe via the Turkish railway network,” the statement said.

“Furthermore, traversing Afghan territory, it will bolster commercial exchanges between Central and South Asia. Notably, this project’s realization will enable the expansion of railway networks into Farah, Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces,” it added.

Gamma operates across Europe and Asia in multiple sectors including construction, renewable energy, power transmission, mining, railways among others.

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US urges IEA to fulfill counter-terrorism commitments

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism.

“We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism, and we continue to push the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) to fulfill all of their counterterrorism commitments to the international community,” the department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing in Washington.

He reiterated that the United States had clearly communicated to the IEA that it’s their responsibility to ensure that “they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether it be Al Qaeda or ISIS-K or any other terrorist organization”.

Miller also reassured US allies that Washington was closely watching the developments in Afghanistan and was ready to deal with any threat emerging from the region.

“We remain vigilant against the evolving threat of these terrorist groups, and our global coalition to defeat ISIS and the C5+1 help intensify our efforts to monitor terrorist threats from the region and prevent their ability to raise funds, travel, and spread propaganda,” he said.

C5+1 refers to a diplomatic platform involving the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgy­zstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and the United States. It serves as a forum for discussing and addressing regional issues such as security, economic development, and cooperation.

“The United States remains vigilant against the evolving threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIS-K, and has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since President Joe Biden took office three years ago,” Miller said.

The US, he said, was “working both unilaterally and with its partners to successfully disrupt threats across the globe and degrade ISIS”.

“We will continue to work to hold ISIS accountable for its actions and to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western countries,” Miller said.

This comes as IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to not allowing anyone to use Afghanistan soil against any other country.

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IEA condemns Israel for confiscating 800 hectares of land in West Bank’s Jordan Valley

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) strongly condemned on Thursday Israel’s decision to seize 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley region.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the recent actions by “the Zionist regime demonstrate that it does not to adhere to international laws, especially international humanitarian law.”

“Continuation of such unilateral actions and ignoring the rights of Palestinian people will further deteriorate the situation,” the statement said.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expects international actors, particularly influential regional Muslim countries to fulfill their legitimate, human and moral responsibilities in supporting the oppressed people of Palestine and prevent the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories,” it added.

Israeli media have reported that Israel seized 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank, claiming it as “state land.”

It is reported the seized land could be used for the construction of illegal Jewish settlements.

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