The minister made the remarks in a meeting between the grandson of Imam Khomeini, Seyed Hassan Khomeini, at the mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic on Thursday, urging the Taliban to form an inclusive government.

“We do not recognize the incumbent ruling body of Afghanistan and we emphasize the necessity of forming an inclusive government in the country because the Taliban is one part of the reality of Afghanistan, not all of it,” Amir Abdollahian underlined.

The senior official explained that Tehran has held talks with Afghan authorities regarding Iran’s share of water from the Hirmand River, stating that Iran believes that the issue must be resolved according to the 1973 treaty.

“We have told Afghan authorities that the issue of [Iran’s] share of water cannot be resolved through a mere political statement and should be pursued within the framework of legal measures,” he added.

On Friday, Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, urged the Taliban to commit to a major water treaty signed between Tehran and Afghanistan nearly half a century ago and supply Iran with its share of water from the Hirmand River, also known as Helmand, within a month. 

He reiterated that the Taliban must be held accountable for their refusal to deliver Iran’s water rights if it is proven that there is enough water in dams built on the Hirmand River.

The diplomat added that the Taliban officials are well aware that if they want to establish a stable government in the country, they must have constructive relations with their neighbors, including Iran.

Iran and Afghanistan have been locked in a long-running dispute over shared water resources. At the heart of the dispute is the Helmand River, which flows 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) South before flowing into Hamoun wetlands, located in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The two countries signed a treaty in 1973, under which Iran is entitled to receive 820 million cubic meters of water from the river annually.

But the treaty was never implemented in full and negotiations never advanced, as Afghanistan plunged into decades of instability and insecurity and various governments adopted different policies toward Tehran.

Since taking control of the country in August 2021, the Taliban has vowed to implement the terms of the water agreement with Iran.

However, Iranian officials and lawmakers have time and again complained the country is not receiving its due share of water from the river.

Taliban ministers have blamed drought and technical issues for the low supply of water to Iran in the past months.

Afghanistan has also built dams on the Hirmand which have constricted the water flow into Iran.

Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi has already ordered the Foreign Ministry as well as the Energy Ministry to seriously pursue the dispute with Afghanistan over shared water resources.

The two-decades-long US invasion of Afghanistan ended with the withdrawal of American troops from the capital, Kabul, in September 2021.

The Taliban have so far failed to gain international recognition nearly two years after their takeover of Afghanistan.

Since the takeover, Tehran has consistently called for the formation of an inclusive government representing all ethnicities in its Eastern neighboring country.