Most of the newspapers in Iran on Saturday highlighted Tehran’s warning to the Taliban about water right from the Helmand Rive.

In a commentary on the matter, Shargh quoted an expert who says: “Considering the fact that water crisis and water shortage are getting worse in the region and the world, water has found a special function in the geopolitical developments and needs of countries. From this point of view, from Afghanistan to Turkey, they try to use water as a political and diplomatic pressure to realize interests and goals towards other countries such as Iran.  

The issue is not limited to the Taliban government; rather, all successive governments and different political bodies in Afghanistan have tried to avoid giving Iran’s share of water under unrealistic excuses and justifications over the years.

Etemad: Do not recognize the Taliban

In a note, Etemad discussed Iran-Taliban relations. It wrote: Iran-Taliban relations are a fire under the ashes, and any excuse or issue can ignite this fire and spread its flames inside and outside of our country.  Anyway, any nationalist Pashtun tension with Pakistan or religious tension with Iran can set the region on fire and make Iran and Pakistan face a serious crisis. Therefore, it is better for Pakistan and Iran to focus on their national interests and make it their main foreign policy priority and seriously avoid taking any action that would strengthen the Taliban or help recognize them as official.

Iran: Effective diplomacy against Taliban is necessary

The Iran newspaper devoted its editorial to the statements of Zohre-Vand, the former ambassador of Iran to Afghanistan, and said: “The change of the region’s ecosystem by the Taliban is only a part of the costly approaches of the new rulers of Afghanistan.”  The approach taken by the Taliban shows that they have formulated long-term strategies in the field of geopolitics and geoculture in the region and are implementing them. The Iranian government decision makers and politicians should pay attention to the fact that the issue of Helmand is only a part of the Taliban’s destructive policies and we are seeing their destructive actions in the cultural and religious fields as well. As a “solution” to get rid of such a situation and deal with the existing threats in this region, it can be pointed out that an effective confrontation with the Taliban requires “effective diplomacy”.  Considering that the other party does not have an official government, we should review our diplomacy towards the whole of Afghanistan.  While changing patten of water consumption in the region and using new technologies, we must solve the existing water challenges independently of the Taliban. In such a situation, we can overcome the issues raised in this area by applying diplomacy.

Sobh-e-No: Rule of Jurisprudent is the path to reform
 
In its editorial, Sobh-e-No discussed the authorities of the Supreme Jurisprudent and wrote: In most of cases in which the Supreme Jurisprudent has used his maximum authority have been at the request of various government or state bodies, especially the executive power, even when this government branch has been controlled by the so-called reform faction. The rest of the cases were either to protect the Islamic revolution and to prevent it from turning off its correct path, which is the most important task of the Leader of the revolution, or to make the system’s mechanisms flexible to pass through the difficult stages.  In the end, once again while emphasizing the issue of reform, we point to the part of the Supreme Jurisprudent’s statements. He says: “Reform is one of the traditions of human life and human history.  If we do not reform and move forward, it will be imposed on us.”  Today, we desperately need managers and elites who firstly understand the necessity of reform; secondly, have the scientific and practical ability to explain or make reforms; and thirdly, have the necessary courage to both understand the importance of reform and have the ability to realize it!