Prospect of Iran’s water diplomacy
By Hamed Hekmatara
Expert at Iran’s Water Diplomacy Association
In his last business trip in 2024, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi went to East Azarbaijan Province to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam and operating the Khoda-Afarin Dam (both on the Aras River and shared with the Republic of Azerbaijan); as the said dams were inaugurated by him and his Azerbaijani counterpart. The event took place 19 years after opening the Doosti Dam (on the Hari-Rud River which is shared with Turkmenistan) by president Khatami and then President of Turkmenistan. In other words, the Qiz-Qalasi and Khoda-Afarin dams are the second concrete manifestation of the importance of water diplomacy for Iran at the highest executive level along with Tehran’s effort to use the common waters issue as an opportunity to expand cooperation and water-based regionalism.
In the field of transboundary waters, the issues facing Iran, including water diplomacy and the water dispute, are mainly related to the transboundary basins of Aras, Hari-Rud and Hirmand (Helmand). This country has common interests with the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan in the field of common water resources. Because all three of these countries are located at the downstream of the basins. For this reason, this opportunity has been used favorably through water diplomacy and the conclusion of an agreement for the construction and operation of the joint dams of Aras, Khoda-Afarin, Qiz-Qalasi and Mil-Moghan with the Republic of Azerbaijan and Doosti Dam with Turkmenistan. But the noteworthy point here is that Iran’s water interests are less proportional to the upstream countries of Turkey (on the Aras) and Afghanistan (on the Hari-Rud and Hirmand), and strengthening water diplomacy is needed in this regard.
Due to the fact that the Soviet Union, as one of the top two world powers in its era, also been common on the Aras and Hari-Rud basins, basically no agreement has been made so far to share the water rights in the mentioned basins; Unlike the Hirmand basin, which is common between Iran and Afghanistan, and both countries have reached an agreement on the sharing of water rights in 1953. In fact, the Soviet Union, as the undisputed hegemon of the region in its common basins, which had common water interests with Iran (both were in the downstream position), started to conclude water agreements with Iran in line with water diplomacy, which was mostly without participation and disregard for the interests of upstream countries with lower power.
However, after the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the formation of a greater balance in the power of the countries in the region, the upstream countries of Turkey and Afghanistan are trying to make more use of their water rights, and due to the lack of water agreements with the downstream countries as a legacy of the bipolar world, some water disputes are emerging in the region. In fact, sometimes there is a belief among some elites and officials of the upstream countries in the region that undisputed Soviet power and hegemony and Iran’s abundant oil revenues in the 1970s gave these countries an increasing and hegemonic power in the region, and this led to construction of joint dams in the downstream parts of the common basins without the participation and permission of weaker upstream
countries.
In this regard, although the ruling governments of Afghanistan emphasize the implementation of the 1973 Hirmand Treaty with Iran; as the history of the last half century after the signing of the treaty shows, it is not unlikely that Kabul will continue to strengthen its national interests by increasing the cultivated area and producing hydroelectric power in upstream parts of the Hirmand basin or bargaining for alternative concessions by diverting the Hirmand water from the Hamun Lake to the Gowd-e Zereh Depression. It seems that there is a need to tie the water interests of Iran with Turkey and Afghanistan through water diplomacy in such a way that the upstream countries welcome the implementation of existing or future treaties on transboundary waters and do not consider them imposed.
According to the above, it seems that the issue of water disputes of Iran with Turkey and Afghanistan cannot be easily resolved and there is a need for more and continuous attention and effort in this field of foreign policy. In this regard, one of the main slogans and promises of the 14th government and President Pezeshkian is the development of foreign policy. To the extent that some influential figures in Iran’s foreign policy are key pillars of the new government. In fact, according to the debates and election campaigns, the 14th government believes that strengthening the foreign policy in the current situation has great importance for the country and will even affect the improvement of the domestic policy. In the field of transboundary waters, the sustainable provision of Iran’s water rights from transboundary waters through successful water diplomacy has an impact on the water, food and livelihood security of citizens living in the border provinces and relevant internal policies.
The Department of Water Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established as the main custodian in the field of pursuing Iran’s water diplomacy with its neighbors during the era of President Rouhani and with the support of the then Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghchi. Considering that there have been speculations about the election of Araghchi as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the 14th government, and considering his interest and expertise in the issue of transboundary waters and the increasing aggravation of the water crisis in the region, the issue of common water resources can reach the top of foreign policy issues in the new government.
Paying more attention to the issue of transboundary water diplomacy as an increasingly important part of foreign policy, in addition to its positive effects on the country, will also turn the existing water disputes with some neighboring countries into the axis of convergence in the region. Improving the level of the Water Diplomacy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cooperation of this department with institutions with similar goals in other ministries and the private sector, and supporting the ideas and participation of relevant experts in this direction can be registered as part of the positive and practical steps of the 14th government in the field of transboundary waters.