Iraq: We will complain if Iran continues to block water entry
Iraq's water resources minister says the flow of water from Iran into rivers has sharply decreased, causing problems for residents of Diyala province. He adds that Iraq will complain to the United Nations if the problem is not resolved.
Iraq has called on Iran to respect its water rights. Baghdad says Iran has violated international law by diverting rivers flowing into Iraq and building dams.
According to Turkey's Anadolu Agency, Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Mehdi Rashid al-Hamdani said: "The Iranians have not given any response [positive response] to our demands and continue to cut off the water of the Sirwan, Karun, Karkheh and Alvand rivers, causing great damage to the residents of Diyala [a province in eastern Iraq] who rely on water coming from Iran."
Al-Hamdani threatened that Iraq would complain to the United Nations if Iran did not cooperate regarding its water rights.
According to Anadolu Agency, Türkiye released more water into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers last month to help Iraq overcome the crisis.
Iraq is completely dependent on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which supply more than 90 percent of the country's freshwater.
90 percent of the Euphrates' annual water flow originates in Turkey and 10 percent in Syria. In the case of the Tigris River, Turkey provides 40 percent, Iraq 50 percent, and Iran 10 percent of the annual volume of water flowing in this river.
According to a report by the Strategic Studies Center of the Iranian Presidential Institution, there are more than 40 water sources between Iran and Iraq along the border of the two countries that are connected to each other.
The Diyala River, which is shared by both Iran and Iraq, is a major tributary of the Tigris River.
The annual discharge of some of the Tigris tributaries located in Iranian territory has decreased due to dam construction projects and inter-basin water transfer plans.
The negative consequences of inter-basin water transfer projects in Iran have been identified, especially in downstream regions such as Khuzestan.
For this reason, Iraq has many concerns about the impact of Iranian water transfer projects on the quantity and quality of running water in its territory.
Source: DW
