Iran, Taliban engage in border clashes days after embassy takeover

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Armed clashes erupted Sunday between Iranian border guards and Taliban fighters in the city of Hirmand in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.

The violence, involving light and heavy weapons, broke out at the Milk port of Hirmand city at around 2 pm local time, multiple reports said. No casualties were reported.

The cause of the latest armed confrontation between the two sides is not known yet. Iran's state media said investigation is underway and details will be shared later.

Taliban police spokesman in Nimruz province, Gul Ahmad Qudrat, said in statements cited by the local Tolo News that the clashes erupted in the Pul-e Abrishum area, but provided no further details.

Some videos circulating on social media showed damage to a house in the border region caused by rockets. The veracity of the videos, however, couldn't be ascertained.

The two neighboring countries share a largely porous 900 km (559-mile) border, which has often been a source of tension and hostility between them.

Sunday's violence came a week after Taliban forces arrested an Iranian border guard in the same area, who was released hours later.

According to reports, the border guard was searching a vehicle for contraband when the driver sped away into the Afghan territory where he was taken into police custody.

A day after the incident, the Taliban's foreign ministry announced that it had deputed a seven-member team of diplomats led by a new chargé d'affaires to assume the charge of Afghanistan's embassy in Tehran.

In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry downplayed the embassy handover, calling it an "internal matter" related to Afghanistan.

Since sweeping to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Taliban's relationship with Iran has seen ups and downs, with the two sides frequently engaging in border clashes.

In July last year, Afghan media said one Taliban soldier was killed and another injured after Iranian border guards clashed with Taliban fighters in Hirmand.

Iran's state media said the clashes broke out after Taliban forces attempted to hoist their flag in a disputed area on the border, forcing local residents to flee their homes.

It came three months after the main border crossing between the two countries in the Islam Qala-Dogharoun border area was shut following clashes between the two sides.

In December 2021, barely two months after the Taliban assumed power, clashes were reported in the area over a border wall that Iran was constructing at the time.

The Taliban authorities claimed that the wall was coming up on the zero point of the border, and not on the Iranian side.