Mozafari, while thanking Afghanistan for its political support for Iran, emphasized: “The Islamic Republic has always supported the people of Afghanistan in various areas, including the supply of fuel, electricity, and transit. We now expect this cooperation to continue in the water sector as well.”
He said: “Afghanistan has cooperated well with us so far, and even during this recent war, it supported us and, despite economic offers from the United States, did not allow the US to use its territory against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Referring to the severe water shortage in Mashhad, the governor added: “During my previous visit to Afghanistan, we asked the Taliban to cooperate in supplying the water needed by Afghan migrants living in Mashhad.”
Mozafari said: “The Friendship Dam, which has been the main source of water for Mashhad and had a capacity of more than 1.2 billion liters, is now almost out of service. Meanwhile, dams have been built across the border in Afghanistan, which have contributed to the drying up of water resources in Razavi Khorasan.”
Mozafari stressed: “I announce here that policymakers and decision-makers in the Afghan government can help us. After all, there are now more than one million Afghan nationals in Mashhad, half of whom are documented and half undocumented.”
He added: “These people all have needs that we are meeting based on hospitality and brotherhood.”
The Governor of Razavi Khorasan said: “Under these circumstances, the Salma Dam on the Afghan side of the border has more than 380 million cubic meters of water capacity available, which could help resolve many of the existing problems.”