SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq would boycott the Products from Iran and Turkey if the countries continue to prevent water flow into Iraq’s territory, said the First Deputy Speaker of Iraqi Parliament Hakim al-Zamili on Thursday.
Iraq’s main sources of water are the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, providing 98% of the country’s surface water.
Both rivers originate in Turkey, while the Euphrates passes through Syria, and some tributaries flow through Iran.
Turkey and Iran are holding back water to fill reservoirs behind dams which both countries have built in the past years.
“Blocking water from flowing into our land would kill our people like how Israel kills us with weapon,” al-Zamili said.
“If both Turkey and Iran endure that situation we would boycott their products” he added.
Iraq suffers an extreme drought for the third year in a row due to low rainfalls, the country classified as one of the world’s five countries most vulnerable to climate change and desertification, it also witnessing water shortages in many areas.
Last year the Iraqi water ministry had warned that the water flows from Iran and Turkey were reduced by 50 percent throughout the summer.
