TEHRAN— Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that Iran’s water right is a “definite” issue that the acting Taliban administration must fulfill.

In response to the Tehran Times correspondent, Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Iran's water right from Helmand is definite. 

“The governing body of Afghanistan has said that it has opened the dam but the water has not reached the borders of Iran. It is not important for us if they have opened the dam. It is important to receive the water right. The Taliban governing body must remove all the obstacles, and this is an important criterion for which this body is responsible and must adhere to bilateral agreements and international treaties. The Foreign Ministry has used all its means to secure the water right,” the spokesman said.

He added that Iran’s water right from Helmand River is 820 million cubic meters.

Israel is an apartheid regime that seeks to dominate one minority group

The diplomat also responded to a question about the Israeli president’s visit to the UAE.

According to Khatibzadeh, creating crises is in the essence of the fake regime of Israel and its survival is merely dependent on crisis, terror, violence, and bloodshed.

He further noted, “The clear example that we have in the international system as an apartheid regime is this fake occupier regime of Israel. It continues to pursue the same apartheid policies that it has been seeking over the last decades. First, it seeks the domination of one race and minority ethnic group in the occupied territories, and it pursues systematic atrocities against the main inhabitants of Palestine and the racial superiority of a particular ethnic group. In 2018, the racist law of the Jewish nation-state confirmed this racist behavior,” he clarified.

Khatibzadeh said Israel, as a clear example of apartheid regime, is really a disgrace to human society, and it tries to create crises in other regions. 

“Countries that help normalize these crises must recognize the aggressive, expansionist, and crisis-ridden nature of this regime and bear in mind that the first victims are those on the path to normalize relations with the Zionists,” the diplomat noted.

He said that Iran not only condemns the actions of some countries that are taking the path of normalization, but also recommends that they hear the awakening voices of their nations as soon as possible and put an end to these divisions in the Arab and the larger Islamic world.

Iran backs expansion of ties in the region

Responding to a question on the Iraq-Saudi Arabia relations, the spokesman said that Iran supports expansion of relations in the region.

“We support the expansion of relations between the countries of the region, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia. We see regional efforts for greater convergence in the interest of the region. Iran considers itself one of the proponents and designers of regional convergences, and we think that the more convergences there are, the more opportunities there are, and there is enough space for convergence, and there is no need for unwarranted competition. Iraq also needs support and cooperation in various dimensions,” he reiterated.

Regarding the relations between Tehran and Riyadh and whether trade between the two countries can be restored, he said that there has been no significant change between the two countries. 

“As much as we can move from the atmosphere of confrontation to logical interaction, it is in the interest of the two countries as well as the region,” he asserted.

Endless cycle of violence against the Yemeni people

The spokesman also spoke about the Saudi-led coalition's attacks on Yemen and its impact on the Iran-Saudi talks in Baghdad, saying that the “self-proclaimed coalition” has targeted the Yemeni people with blind attacks these days.

“Some places were attacked dozens of times out of desperation and anger. The Yemeni people have been the victims of this aggression for the past few years,” he noted.
Khatibzadeh said that Iran has always tried to be the voice of the oppressed people of Yemen and at the same time tried to use international mechanisms to end the suffering of the Yemeni people through political frameworks and Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue. 

“Over the past few days, the Islamic Republic of Iran has used all its power and capacity to end the suffering of the Yemenis,” he reiterated.

Khatibzadeh continued by saying that the cycle of violence started by some countries in the region against the Yemeni people is “endless,” unless they put an end to their own acts of aggression. 

“The Yemeni people must get out of this situation after years of siege, and the countries of the region, as brothers, must strive for better days for Yemen in the coming days,” he concluded.