After clashes with the Taliban, Iran bombs houses on the Afghanistan border
Fierce clashes erupted, Sunday, between Taliban forces and Iran’s border guards, and Tehran responded by bombing houses on the Afghan border, according to Aamaj News.
“Clashes erupted in Gwadar Abdul Rahman district, west of Zarandj city, Nimroz province, southern Afghanistan,” the Afghan Herat News Agency reported.
“Taliban forces have sent tanks and light and heavy equipment to the conflict site,” AIP said, citing local sources.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Balochistan Monitoring Organization said on its Telegram channel that “a missile fired by the Taliban forces hit an Iranian security headquarters,” noting that “the Iranian border guards responded with artillery to the Taliban forces, causing the destruction of a number of houses.”
This is the second confrontation between Taliban forces and Iranian border guards in one week. Clashes broke out last Monday, resulting in the arrest of an Iranian border guard by the Taliban and his release hours later.
The confrontations occurred a few days after Iranian authorities handed over the Afghan embassy building to the Taliban government.
Diplomats and employees of the former Afghan government left the Kabul embassy in Tehran and the Taliban envoy took charge.
The Iranian government’s decision to hand over responsibility for the Afghan embassy to the Taliban, which does not have international legitimacy, has been criticized by some Afghan politicians and citizens.
During the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, there were numerous clashes on the border between Taliban forces and Iranian border guards.
A large part of the Taliban’s border forces has not received formal training in tactics to deal with border guards in neighboring countries, which is one reason for creating border tensions.
At times, Taliban border guards have clashed with border guards of neighboring countries or exchanged fire with them without the knowledge or orders of the group’s leadership.
Tehran has tried to establish close relations with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, and delegations from Iran and the Taliban continue their trips and visits to both countries.
In the former Afghan government, border troops rarely clashed with border guards in neighboring countries.
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, and since then, in addition to Iranian border guards, Taliban forces have also clashed with border guards in Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
