“Iran has requested the visit of its technical experts to the Kajaki Dam reservoir, but Afghanistan has not granted permission for this,” Mohammad Javanbakht, the Iranian Deputy Minister of Energy for Water Affairs, said at a press conference on Monday.
“Efforts to secure Iran’s rightful water share will continue,” he added.
Nonetheless, the official said Iranian technical experts have visited a hydrometric station in Deh Rawood, upstream of the Kajaki Dam.
“Although this consent is a positive step, a visit at any time cannot be considered as fulfilling our requirements. The visit should take place at a time when maximum water is discharged,” Javanbakht pointed out.
According to the Helmand River Treaty of 1973, the official said, 850 million cubic meters of water must be released annually from Helmand River to Iran.
“Effective water release has not occurred in recent years, and the Afghan side attributes this to drought,” he said.
Iran and Afghanistan have been locked in a festering water dispute for decades. The two sides signed a water-sharing treaty in 1973, with Afghanistan pledging to allow the flow of water from Helmand into Iran.
Iran’s share of the water, however, has steadily dwindled in recent years due to excessive irrigation and dam construction in Afghanistan.
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