Igniting water conflict between Taliban and Iran harms regional security

Disputes have escalated between Iran and the Taliban over shares of the water of the Helmand River, which is one of the most important sources of fresh water in Afghanistan, representing a new test for the security of the region after the movement came to power in Afghanistan.

At the end of May, military clashes took place on the borders, leaving dead and wounded on both sides, which cast a shadow over the ongoing crisis. For his part, the deputy commander of Iran's Law Enforcement Forces (LEF), Qassem Rezaei, said that the Afghan forces were the ones who initiated the shooting with light weapons and artillery, while his country's forces respected International law and issued a warning to the Afghans, but they did not comply, so the two sides clashed. Rezaei called on the Taliban to shoulder its international responsibilities and respect the law.

Negatives of the dispute between the Taliban and Iran

Later, the two sides agreed to a truce, in addition to opening an investigation into the matter in order to avoid the negative consequences resulting from the escalation of differences. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Aerospace Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, said that the country’s enemies are behind the growing dispute because they want a border war between the two sides, stressing his country's desire not to respond to these provocations under any circumstances, according to what was published by Deutsche Welle on June 3.

It appears from these statements that there is a hint that some foreign powers are seeking to drag the region into a war that achieves their goals of turning the region into a mass of unrelenting flames. If we look at the intertwined international relations of the parties to the conflict, we find that the United States has managed the file of the military exit from Afghanistan to serve its interests only without consideration for the other variables.

One of Washington’s most important interests in this, according to Nourhan el-Sheikh, a professor of politics at Cairo University, was to leave the region to flare up with conflicts while managing the file from abroad.

El-Sheikh added in a previous statement to the Reference during the negotiations between the Taliban and Washington that the US government is preoccupied with other files in Asia, including the South China Sea, the conflict with Russia and Iran, and wanted to withdraw from Kabul, turning the region into a hotbed of conflict that occupies and drains the region's forces.

Hence, Tehran's desire not to ruminate on a military conflict is based on fears of political and economic attrition in light of the real crises the government is experiencing internally, in addition to the fact that wars on various fronts constitute a commercial market for the sale of weapons and the benefit of the opposing forces, regardless of the interests of the peoples of the conflicting countries.

Water shares and the outstanding dispute between Kabul and Tehran

The problem of the water issue remains pending between the two parties, especially with the Taliban’s refusal to allow advisers from the Iranian side to enter to examine the real reasons for the poor flow of the Helmand River water to Tehran, as the Taliban says that the reason is not the dams, as the Iranian government claims, but rather the poor rain, according to the official spokesman of the movement, Zabihullah Mujahid.

The Helmand River originates from southwestern Afghanistan and passes through Iran, which complains of a lack of water flow due to the Afghan Kajaki and Grishk dams built on the river.

The two countries have a treaty regulating the division of water between them since 1973, but conflicts over the river have recently escalated amid mutual accusations between the two parties.