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Iran presses Afghanistan over water rights from Harirud River

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 30 October 2025 4:08 PM

Iran is determined to secure its share of water from the Harirud River, a senior Iranian diplomat says, criticizing Afghanistan for restricting the natural flow through dam construction as the northeastern city of Mashhad faces a worsening water crisis.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said Thursday that Tehran views access to the river's water as a "customary right" and will continue talks with Kabul to resolve the issue.

"Afghanistan's dam construction prevents this water from flowing toward Iran, and resolving this obstacle to ensure the transfer of Iran's water right is one of the topics of discussion with Afghan officials," he stressed.

The issue of Iran's water rights from the Harirud River is of great importance, Gharibabadi said, adding that the Islamic Republic has a customary right to benefit from these water resources.

Iran will pursue its right with determination until a result is achieved, he emphasized.

A decade after Afghanistan unilaterally seized control of Harirud's water via the Salma Dam, its authorities have constructed a second dam on the river, further restricting water flow to Iran and Turkmenistan.

The Harirud Basin is an international water system shared by Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan, playing a vital role in supporting the livelihoods of numerous communities.

Earlier this week, Gharibabadi made a visit to Kabul and reached several agreements with senior Afghan officials on several key issues, including renewed cooperation on water rights.

"During the recent visit to Afghanistan, this issue was followed up in meetings with officials of that country, and the legal regime of the Harirud River is also being pursued," he said on Thursday.

"There are complexities in this regard, and the Afghan side must come to the negotiating table so that the necessary understanding can be reached, allowing for a written memorandum of understanding on this issue similar to that of the Helmand River. Nonetheless, Iran's customary right to use this river remains in place, and follow-ups in this regard are underway," Iran's deputy foreign minister stressed.

The development comes as Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, is currently in a critical situation due to the current acute shortage of water.

"We are in a critical situation in terms of water supply, and the storage volume of the dams supplying Mashhad's water has dropped to less than three percent," warned Hossein Esmaeilian, CEO of Mashhad Water and Wastewater Company, who also attended the meeting with Gharibabadi.

Esmaeilian also stressed that securing funds to accelerate the implementation of Mashhad's emergency water supply projects, as well as medium- and long-term plans, is essential.

Once the transfer line is completed, the treated wastewater will be transferred, and the agricultural wells in the region will be allocated for drinking purposes, he added.

"With the operation of wastewater treatment plants, we now have high-quality treated wastewater ready for agricultural use, intended for transfer to western Mashhad to replace the agricultural wells," Esmaeilian further said, adding that once the transfer line is completed, the treated wastewater would be transferred, and the agricultural wells in the region will be allocated for drinking purposes.

For millennia, rivers rising in central Afghanistan—lands that once belonged to Iran—have sustained communities across the arid western region. Control over these scarce water resources has fueled tensions since modern borders were established by the British in the mid-19th century.