The Taliban and Iran exchanged gunfire across the Islamic Republic’s border with Afghanistan, killing and wounding troops.
The clashes represent a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two countries amid a dispute over water rights in the region, with both sides exchanging blame for the outbreak of transboundary violence.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA quoted the country’s deputy police chief, General Qassem Rezaei, as accusing the Taliban of opening fire on Saturday morning on the border of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province and Afghanistan’s Nimroz province.
IRNA said Iran inflicted “heavy losses and serious damage.”
According to the Taliban, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor accused Iran of firing first.
The Taliban and Iran exchanged gunfire across the Islamic Republic’s border with Afghanistan, killing and wounding troops. Pictured: Video footage supposedly showing a firefight between Taliban and Iranian forces
Takor said the gunfight killed two people, one from each country, and injured others. He described the situation as now under control.
IRNA quoted Iranian police as saying two border guards had been killed. However, that number may be higher. The semi-official, English-language Tehran Times newspaper said the fighting killed three Iranian border guards.
IRNA said Milak’s border crossing with Afghanistan, a major trade route, was closed until further notice due to the firefight.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers dialogue as a reasonable way to solve any problem,” Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khawarazmi said in a statement. “Making excuses for war and negative actions is not in the interest of either party.”
The advocacy group HalVash, which reports on issues affecting the Baluch people in the predominantly Sunni province of Sistan and Baluchestan, quoted residents in the area as saying the fighting took place near the Kang district of Nimroz.
It said some people in the area had fled the violence.
The Taliban and Iran exchanged gunfire across the Islamic Republic’s border with Afghanistan, killing and wounding troops. Pictured: An Iranian soldier looks out over a mountainous area in the country (file photo)
Videos posted online, supposedly from the area, include the crackle of machine gun fire in the distance. HalVash later posted an image of what appeared to be the remains of a mortar shell, stating that “heavy guns and mortars are used.
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Later videos from HalVash claimed that Iranian forces fired a mortar, as well as Taliban forces firing US machine guns at an Iranian border post.
Other Taliban fighters rode in armored vehicles believed to have been abandoned by NATO forces.
Iran vowed not to let the Taliban attack continue.
“The border forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond decisively to any border crossing and aggression, and the current authorities of Afghanistan must be held accountable for their unmeasured and contrary to international principles,” IRNA was quoted as saying by Iran’s chief of police, General Ahmadreza. Radan, as said.
The clash comes after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi earlier this month warned the Taliban not to violate Iran’s water rights to the Helmand River.
Raisi’s comments represented some of the strongest to date on Iran’s long-running water concerns.
Drought has been a problem in Iran for about 30 years, but has gotten worse in the last decade, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
Iran’s Meteorological Organization says an estimated 97% of the country is now experiencing some degree of drought.
The Taliban took Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO forces were in the final weeks of their withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.
Since then, Afghanistan has become the most repressive country in the world for women and girls, depriving them of virtually all of their basic rights, the UN said. Hunger remains endemic.
While Iran does not accept the Taliban government directly, it maintains relations with Afghanistan’s new rulers. Tehran has also called on the Taliban to send women and girls to school.
Earlier on Saturday, acting Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with an Iranian envoy to Afghanistan to discuss water rights of the Helmand River, according to tweets from Afghan foreign ministry official Zia Ahmad Affairs.
Pictured: Taliban fighters pose for a photo after the Eid al-Fitr prayers, which mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 21, 2023
IRNA acknowledged the meeting and said “problems between the two countries will be better resolved through dialogue.”
But tensions have increased. Another video posted online in recent days reportedly shows a standoff with Iranian troops and the Taliban as Iranian construction workers attempted to strengthen the border between the two countries.
In recent days, pro-Taliban accounts online have also shared a video with a song calling on acting defense minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob to revolt against Iran. Mullah Yaqoob is the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the late founder and first Supreme Leader of the Taliban.
“We are a government, we have power,” the song reads. “Our leader Mullah Yaqoob will oppose Iran or we will not be the government of the republic. We are not slaves, our leader Mullah Yaqoob will stand against Iran.’