Water security and scarcity: Potential destabilization in western Afghanistan and Iranian Sistan and Baluchestan due to transboundary water conflicts

Afghan stabilization and reconstruction efforts include agricultural development and water withdrawal, diversion, and containment projects in the middle and lower Helmand River and Hari Rud watersheds of Afghanistan. ¹ The Iranian government sees these actions as undermining water security in the eastern part of its country. The concern is particularly relevant in the region known as Sistan and Baluchestan, the most desolate, most marginalized, and least stable of Iran’s provinces. This region’s instability is Iran’s Achilles’ heel, and Iran is sensitive to actions that may undermine its hold on the region.