After the Taliban announced that the work of “Pashdan Dam” in Herat has been completed up to 80 percent and will soon be put into operation, it faced a wave of criticism in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Eisa Bozorgzadeh, the spokesperson of Iran’s water industry, said that the construction of this dam will severely affect the drinking water of several million Iranians living in the city of Mashhad and called for an adjustment in the Taliban’s decision. Meanwhile, Ismail Baqaei, the spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, has requested the cooperation of the Taliban government to remove the obstacles to the entry of water from Afghanistan to Iran. He reminded that Iran’s rights and bilateral treaties between the two countries should be considered in the exploitation of water resources.

The Taliban recently completed the construction of the “Pashdan Dam” in Herat, and earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Taliban government, published a video of the gathering of citizens around this dam on his account in the X. The spokesperson of Iran’s Foreign Ministry has protested the withdrawal of water from Herat’s “Pashdan Dam” and said “exploitation of water resources and water basins cannot be done without respecting Iran’s rights in accordance with bilateral treaties or customary principles and rules, as well as the important principle of good neighborliness as well as environmental considerations.”

Esmail Baqaei said that Iran’s Foreign Ministry, in contact with the ruling authorities in Afghanistan, expressed its “strong objection and concern to the disproportionate limitation of water entering Iran or diverting the natural course of rivers”.

The authorities of the Taliban government have not reacted on the water issue so far.

Earlier, Bozorgzadeh also called the water withdrawal from Herat’s Pashdan Dam “one-sided exploitation” of the Hariroud River, which, according to him, “caused a violation of customary rights.”

He added that “the effects of this unilateral action by the Afghan side will not only affect the supply of drinking water and health of several million people, but also lead to widespread damage to the downstream environment.”

Pashdan dam, which is located in Karkh district of Herat, is one of the main sources of irrigation for the green areas of Herat city and the green belt of this province, and its construction started in 2010.

It is said that Pashdan Dam has the capacity to irrigate about 18 thousand hectares of land and produce two megawatts of electricity.

In the past, Iran has expressed concern about the number of dams and efforts to build more dams in Afghanistan.

Hirmand River is a potential point of conflict between Iran and Afghanistan  

The Hirmand River on the border of Iran and Afghanistan is a potential point of conflict over scarce water resources in the region between these two countries.

Iran and Afghanistan have signed a treaty for the use of Hirmand water in 1972, based on which the annual amount of water that enters Iran from the Hirmand River is determined, but Iran is not aware of the amount of water that enters Iran and this country is not satisfied with the flow of the water.

The water treaty between Afghanistan and Iran was signed between Musa Shafiq and Amir Abbas Hoyda, the then prime ministers of the two countries.

The officials of the Taliban government have cited the lack of rainfall and the lack of a device to measure the amount of water entering Iran as the main reasons for not reaching the amount of water that Iran has received, and they have claimed that in some years, Iran has received water more than the amount of water that is stipulated in the treaty between the two countries.

Representative French Hill, a 68-year-old former banker from Arkansas, has made significant efforts to gain Silicon Valley’s support in the U.S. Congress, ultimately becoming the leader of the House Financial Services Committee.

In recent years, as a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Hill has emerged as a leading advocate for policies supporting emerging technology sectors, including cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, according to POLITICO.

This focus has garnered support from a new political power base in Silicon Valley, which has deep ties to incoming President Donald Trump. These connections helped Trump raise campaign donations and provided effective support, strengthening Hill’s position against three other top House Republicans.

POLITICO reports that Hill’s rise underscores the growing influence of Silicon Valley in Washington.

“He knows the community, he knows the industry, and with an incoming president, that’s where he wants to focus,” said Republican House of Representatives member Tom Emmer, a member of the Republican Party steering group that selects committee leaders and a prominent supporter of the crypto industry.

The Financial Services Committee, long known for its focus on Wall Street, where financiers seek to influence bank regulation, is increasingly turning its attention to financial technology issues. This shift has opened the door for emerging industries to wield new influence.

While the priorities of the legacy banking sector do not always align with those of the tech industry, Hill has facilitated this transition. He is now positioned to provide emerging tech sectors like crypto with a powerful ally to drive industry-friendly policies through Congress during a potential second Trump administration.

Silicon Valley luminaries such as billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist David Sacks, Trump’s choice as White House czar for crypto and artificial intelligence, are giving the venture capital and emerging tech sectors more influence than ever as they prepare to help shape policy in Trump’s new term.

Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association, the trade group representing venture capital firms, said: “This is a great choice for the industry. I expect French to further advance many of the things that are important to us.”

Hill’s Silicon Valley connections have helped him become one of the top fundraisers for House Republicans, a trait that has bolstered his race for leadership of the Financial Services Committee.

In the past year, he has received donations from several top executives at crypto and venture capital firms, including Trump-supporting billionaire Marc Andreessen, founder of venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, and Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange.

Hill’s fundraiser, held in October in the Silicon Valley suburb of Woodside, California, was attended by leading figures in the technology and venture capital business.

Three people familiar with the event said it was hosted by Fred Ehrsam and Matt Huang, founders of crypto investment firm Paradigm, as well as other tech CEOs, including Kevin Kelly of Sequoia Heritage, Neil Mehta of Greenoaks Capital, Katie Haun of Haun Ventures, Patrick Collison of Stripe, and Vlad Tenev of Robinhood.

Others who donated to Hill ahead of the event, which raised nearly half a million dollars for Hill and the House Republicans’ campaign arm, include Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani and Solana Labs co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, according to FEC filings.

Venture capitalists like Franklin say it wasn’t just drafting crypto policy that helped Hill win them over. Franklin points to Hill’s experience building his own company (a public bank) as well as his support for the DEAL Act, which would “increase access to capital for early-stage startups.” Hill is also co-chair of the Congressional Entrepreneurship Caucus.

Puerto Rico was once again plunged into darkness on Tuesday due to the latest failure in its troubled power grid.

According to LUMA Energy, the private company that manages Puerto Rico’s power grid, power was cut across the region since the morning hours. The company apologized to Puerto Ricans for the “disruption to their plans to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year.”

As of 6 p.m., power had been restored to about 336,000 of Puerto Rico’s 1.5 million customers. However, the company stated that the full restoration process could take one to two days, potentially leaving customers without power during the New Year holiday.

LUMA spokesman Hugo Sorrentini said, “We understand the frustration of our customers. No one wants to spend New Year’s Eve without service. We will not rest until we serve them all.”

The cause of the power outage is under investigation. Sorrentini noted that initial findings indicate a fault in a switchyard cable outside the Costa Sur generation facility may have caused units to go offline, triggering cascading outages that led to a system-wide shutdown.

Puerto Rico suffers frequent power outages due to the instability of its electricity grid, largely attributed to neglect and lack of investment by the state-owned utility. Its location in the Caribbean also makes it vulnerable to powerful hurricanes, which frequently damage its fragile electricity system.

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria destroyed the region’s power grid, causing outages in parts of the archipelago that lasted almost a year. The storm killed nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans and was the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history.

Puerto Rico also experienced widespread blackouts earlier this year when Tropical Storm Ernesto caused a major power outage.

“No American should be forced to enter the New Year in the dark,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a statement on X. “I share the frustration of the many Puerto Ricans who are facing another widespread power outage on the island. They deserve better.”

Puerto Rico Governor-elect Jenniffer González-Colón, currently the territory’s non-voting resident commissioner in Congress, stated that stabilizing Puerto Rico’s energy grid will be her top priority when she takes office.

“We cannot continue to rely on an energy system that has failed our people,” González-Colón said on X. “Today’s power outage and the uncertainty over repairs continue to affect our economy and quality of life.”

Current Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said that work is underway to restore service at the territory’s two major power plants. His administration will “demand answers and solutions from both LUMA and Genera, accelerate the restart of generating units outside the fault area, and duly inform the public about the measures they are taking to restore service island wide.”

Ivan Baez, a spokesman for Genera, the private company that manages Puerto Rico’s older power plants, confirmed LUMA’s initial assessment of the cause of the outage.

“The good news is that, thank God, the plants are in good condition, and LUMA is working to reconnect customers according to safety protocols,” Baez said.

Javier Rúa-Jovet, chief policy officer of the Solar + Energy Storage Association, noted that about 150,000 customers in Puerto Rico with solar and storage systems have electricity.