Managing the Water of Rivers in Iran’s Western Border and Its Impact on Iran-Iraq Political-Economic Interactions: A (Case Study of the Tropical System Project)

Climate change, population growth, industrial development and inappropriate use of existing water resources have been resulted in water crisis and the resulting security challenges has been turned into one of the most important issues in the international community. In such a situation, focusing on the condition of border rivers is of increasingly importance, and it has led to increased hydro political disputes and conflicts between countries. Owing to the fact of having common border rivers, Iran is no exception to this rule. Hence, it has started planning for management and more utilization of water resources of its border rivers. One of these programs is a project called "Western Tropical System". The aim of the present study is to identify threats and damages caused by the reduction of water entering the territory of Iraq after the implementation of this project using the concept of extended security in the Copenhagen School. The main question of this study is how water management of rivers in western border called the tropical system project affect the economic, political and security relations between Iran and Iraq. In this research, descriptive-analytic method has been used and the data were collected with the use of field observation, interviews, documents and the internet. The main hypothesis of the research is that "the management of border rivers water and the implementation of large water projects in the western part of the country will cause political and security tensions and disrupt economic interactions between Iran and Iraq." The evidence suggests that the implementation of this project will lead to sustainable development and security and will avoid the migration of the residents of the border areas. However, to prevent possible economic and political security threats due to the reduction of water entering to Iraq, as well as the inter basin transfer, the necessary equipment should be provided by the diplomatic apparatus and other relevant institutions and organizations. In this regard, some recommendations have been presented.