By Tasnim News (Politics) | Created at 2025-01-04 06:42:30 | Updated at 2025-01-06 09:21:23
2 days ago
In a statement on Friday, Esmaeil Baqaei highlighted the enduring identity, cultural, ethnic, religious, and civilizational bonds between Iran and Afghanistan.
He pointed to the nearly five-decade presence of millions of Afghan nationals in Iran, emphasizing that preserving and deepening relations between the two countries in various fields requires mutual respect for interests and the avoidance of harmful unilateral actions.
Baqaei stressed the importance of bilateral agreements, applicable principles of international law --both treaty-based and customary-- and the natural rights of people living downstream of shared rivers, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
He also underscored the principle of good neighborliness in the equitable utilization of water resources from the rivers that have historically flowed from Afghanistan to Iran over centuries due to the region's natural geography.
Afghanistan is expected to cooperate in ensuring the continued water flow from the border rivers into Iran and to remove any obstacles that have been created, he stated.
Regarding the construction or filling of new dams in Afghanistan and their impact on water inflow to Iran, the spokesman said Iran has repeatedly emphasized, through appropriate channels -especially via official diplomatic means and technical mechanisms- that the utilization of shared water resources cannot occur without respecting Iran's rights under bilateral treaties, applicable customary rules, the principle of good neighborliness, and environmental considerations.
The spokesperson stated that the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conveyed its serious objections and concerns to the relevant Afghan authorities regarding any disproportionate restrictions on water inflow to Iran or the diversion of the natural course of rivers that have historically contributed to the prosperity and environmental balance on both sides of the common border.
Iran expects Afghanistan to make appropriate decisions, taking into account the interests and well-being of both nations, as well as international legal norms, treaties, agreements, and the principle of good neighborliness, he concluded.
