Iran should use diplomatic, trade tools to secure water rights from Taliban
By Abdol-Mohammad Taheri
Afghanistan affairs analyst
A senior Iranian water official has said Afghanistan delivered only a fraction of Iran’s legally agreed share of water during the last water year. According to Isa Bozorgzadeh, spokesperson for Iran’s water industry, just 119 million cubic meters reached Iran—around 16% of the 820 million cubic meters set out in the 1973 treaty.
If the current situation continues and Afghanistan fails to release Iran’s allocated water, there is no need for military confrontation as Iran maintains channels of engagement with all neighboring countries. The Islamic Republic can apply pressure through active diplomacy as well as the various tools already at its disposal to bring Afghanistan to the table and ensure Iran’s rightful share is met.
Legal options also remain open. Iran can certainly make use of international mechanisms, including conventions governing transboundary water, with the United Nations acting as the final authority should the dispute be taken that far. The Taliban’s failure to release Iran’s water share would create serious challenges along the country’s eastern borders.
There is debate over whether Afghanistan’s lack of cooperation is deliberate or the result of administrative shortcomings. I believe that both possibilities exist, though ignorance plays a greater role because Afghan authorities would avoid playing with a capable neighbor or push Iran toward a tense path if they applied sound judgement. Diplomatic prudence is among the strongest tools available for Iran to make clear to Afghan authorities that such behavior is not a viable approach to governance.
Afghanistan’s ability to maintain peaceful relations with Iran—a neighbor with nearly 1,000 kilometers of shared border and significant linguistic, cultural and ideological commonalities—is crucial. If Afghan authorities cannot sustain cultural and economic ties at a time of growing global polarization, and if they fail to release Iran’s rightful share of water, they will ultimately risk creating serious problems for themselves.
Available evidence is sufficient to conclude that Afghanistan provides perhaps 10% of Iran’s water rights—an amount deemed wholly inadequate. The recommendation is that Iran should make use of all mechanisms at its disposal including economic levers related to transit as well as visa requests, which remain in high demand among Afghan citizens seeking to enter Iran for family visits. Iran’s extensive trade with Afghanistan is an additional avenue for mounting such pressure.
These tools should be utilized collectively to address a situation that is worsening by the moment, at a time when Iran has suffered years of drought. Afghanistan, by contrast, enjoys better water conditions due to water sources flowing from the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush around Badakhshan province and beyond.
For this reason, Taliban officials should honor the joint convention and deliver Iran’s water rights. Failure to do so will generate difficulties for both countries, with Afghanistan likely to face the greater consequences. It is hoped that Afghanistan’s esteemed and honorable officials will come to their senses, exercise wisdom and promptly resolve the dispute.