According to Iran’s energy minister, the nation must make some important choices to safeguard its water rights from the Helmand River in Afghanistan.
Iran’s energy minister, Ali Akbar Mehrabian, stated that the Helmand River water rights are a major matter for the ministry of energy.
The summit will make some significant choices regarding how to address the country’s east coast’s water shortage, according to Mehrabian.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi ordered the investigation into the Helmand water rights issue hours earlier because it was crucial to the lives of individuals who resided in the east of the nation.
Sources state that if the water supply from Afghanistan is not resumed, the population of Sistan may face serious water shortages in the upcoming months.
In accordance with the 1973 deal, Afghanistan agreed to provide Iran with 820 million cubic metres of water yearly on average. While Iranian officials have criticised Afghanistan for failing to uphold the agreement’s conditions.
The four decades of political unrest in the nation stopped the pact from becoming law. All surface water, including the Helmand River, therefore flows to nearby nations, notably Iran.
According to estimates, Afghanistan barely consumes 20% of its available water, with the remainder going to its neighbours, particularly Iran.