The Minister of Energy of Iran, Ali Akbar Mehrabian, said that the Islamic Emirate should give Iran its water rights based on the 1973 water treaty between the two countries.

Mehrabian added that he will soon travel to Afghanistan to solve the challenges of water rights of his country.

"The Afghan side has agreed to Iran's water rights, and this is a positive step, but it is not sufficient for us. We demand our legal water rights, which is mentioned in the 1973 treaty,” Mehrabian said.

But the officials of the Ministry of Energy and Water said that the Islamic Emirate is committed to honoring Iran’s water rights.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is committed to paying Iran's water rights according to the treaty of 1973,” said Akhtar Mohammad Nusrat, a spokesman of the Ministry of Energy and Water.

According to the 1973 treaty, Afghanistan committed to sharing the water from Helmand River with Iran at the rate of 26 cubic meters of water per second, or 850 million cubic meters per annum.

"This treaty is for a usual water year. A usual water year is a year through which the annual amount of water flowing is 5.61 billion cubic meters in Helmand river, in accordance with the water measuring machines,” said Najib Aqa Fahim, an international relations analyst.

Mehrabian’s remarks come as the second phase of the Kajaki power dam, now providing 100 megawatts of power, was inaugurated on Wednesday with senior officials of the Islamic Emirate and a top Turkish diplomat attending.