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Iran Protests Afghanistan's Blockade of Border River
Iran has protested to the United Nations over Afghanistan's blocking of a border river from flowing into Iran, the state IRNA news agency reported Thursday.
Iran's permanent envoy to the United Nations, Hadi Nejadhosseinian, sent a letter to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to complain about the action taken by the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, which Iran does not recognize.
The letter noted that the water which used to flow to the Hirmand river in Iran from the Kajaki Dam in Afghanistan has been cut, resulting in "tremendous damage" to the regional's agriculture and animal husbandry.
Moreover the cut has dried up the well-known swamp of Hamoon in the border area, the letter said.
Under an agreement signed by Iran and Afghanistan on March 1973, Afghanistan is obliged to allow the flow of an average 26 cubic meters of water per second to the Hirmand river.
The letter called for a resumption of the water supply to enable the farmers there to irrigate in the sowing season.
It warned that Iran reserves the right to file a complaint for reparation for the damage inflicted as a result of Taliban's violation of the signed pact.
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