Iran’s parliament house speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the historic Helmand water treaty agreement should "remain undamaged” and that it ensures the interests of the two sides.

He said the Islamic Emirate, considering the "sufficient amount" in Afghanistan, should avoid creating a "big problem." 

“The agreement about water rights is part of the major history of the two countries, the nations of Iran and Afghanistan, and should remain undamaged,” he said.

Meanwhile, Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan and the head of its mission in Kabul, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, accused Afghan water experts of having ties with former government officials.  

“We have told the Taliban many times that they (experts) are acting contrary to the policies which you announced ... These are the experts who remain from the previous government and they have relationships with the former government’s officials,” Qomi said.

However, the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) stressed that it is committed to allowing water to be allocated to Iran based on the agreement signed in 1973 between Afghanistan and Iran.  

“There are experts and employees in each technical administration of each country of the world. They have nothing to do with politics. The experts and employees of the Ministry of Energy and Water always follows the administrative rules and procedures as well as the orders of the leadership,” said Ghumal Jailani Haqparast, director of media and press for the MoEW.

Analysts believe that tensions over water will have a negative impact on political and economic ties between the two countries.

“Of course, the tensions between the two countries have direct impact on several matters between the two countries, particularly with Iran, which is a trade partner of Afghanistan, with whom we have $2 or $3 billion commerce rate. In addition to this, there are Afghan refugees in Iran. If these problems are not solved based on mechanisms, it will have its affect,” said Nazeem Samon, a water analyst.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman in an earlier statement said that the surface of the water has dropped in the Helmand river.