Iran Criticizes the Filling of a New Dam in Afghanistan

One month after the start of filling the Pashdan Dam in Afghanistan on the Hari Rud River, the spokesperson for Iran's water industry deemed this action a violation of 'customary rights.' Eisa Bozorgzadeh, without mentioning the Islamic Republic's silence during the 13 years of the dam's construction, stated that the effects of this unilateral action by the Afghan side not only impact the drinking water and sanitation of millions of Iranian citizens but also cause extensive damage to the downstream environment. The construction of the dam began in 2011 and was supposed to be completed in three years, but its completion faced delays, and finally, last month, the Taliban government began filling the dam. The project's goal is to generate 2 megawatts of electricity and supply water for 13,000 hectares of agricultural land. The Hari Rud River originates from the central mountains of Afghanistan and forms part of the northwestern border of Afghanistan and northeastern Iran before entering Turkmenistan. A member of the Security Commission stated that the Taliban plans to prevent floodwaters from entering Iran. Bozorgzadeh continued that the construction and filling of the Pashdan Dam 'in the border and shared basin' of the Hari Rud would reduce the natural flow of the border river. His remarks come at a time when this dam is not located at the border or in the shared section with Iran but near the city of Herat. The spokesperson for Iran's water industry further stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran has 'repeatedly' expressed its official objection through diplomatic channels regarding the negative transboundary effects caused by the unilateral dam construction by the Afghan side in the Hari Rud basin and has called for joint cooperation to assess and mitigate these effects and to choose sustainable development instead of destructive development. Previously, the Taliban had also prevented the flow of the Helmand River into Iran by filling dams. Last August, Ali Salajegheh, the then head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, announced that the Taliban had only released 15 million cubic meters of Iran's 850 million cubic meters water right this year. It seems that since last autumn, the Taliban has significantly increased the amount of water delivered to Iran; Meysam Mahdipour, the special representative of the President in Afghan affairs, recently stated that in the past water year, 437 million cubic meters of Iran's water right from the Helmand River entered the country. The water year begins in October. According to the 1972 agreement, Afghanistan is supposed to provide Iran with 850 million cubic meters of water from the Helmand River annually, but Afghanistan's failure to adhere to this agreement over the decades, especially in recent years, has become one of the serious challenges between the two countries. Taliban officials have repeatedly claimed that due to the low amount of water, even if the dam is opened, water will not reach Iran.