Turkey’s DAP Project to Impair Socio-Political Ties With Iran

The completion of Turkey’s Eastern Anatolia Project (aka DAP in Turkish) will further reduce water flow to Iran through the Aras River in the northeast by at least 30%, the head of the Energy Ministry’s department of border rivers and joint water resources said.
“The massive reduction from the transboundary water resource that starts in Turkey and flows through Iran will adversely affect the livelihood of farming communities in the northeastern provinces of Ardabil and East Azarbaijan,” IRNA also quoted Jabbar Vatanfada as saying.
The economic well-being of thousands of farmers, whose agribusinesses depend on the cross-border river, has been worsened by the chronic water crisis in Iran. Turkey’s unacceptable move will not only exacerbate the situation but also have a damaging impact on Tehran-Ankara’s long-term relationship, he added.