What happened? A clash has been reported between Taliban fighters and Iranian border guards on Sunday evening in Gozar-e Abdul Rahman Khan area about a kilometer from Zaranj city, Nimroz province.
Go deeper:
- According to sources, both sides used light and heavy weapons. Iranian border guards’ missiles also hit the Taliban’s police headquarters building in Zaranj city, the capital of Nimroz Province, sources said.,
- A spokesman for the Taliban’s security command in Nimroz, also confirmed the incident but did not provide details about it.
- The cause of the fighting is not yet known. Two houses of residents were destroyed in the clash, the source said. No information is available about the possible casualties.
- A resident of the border region said that he heard gunfire near his home during lunchtime and saw two people transporting wounded personnel and sending Taliban forces to the border as he left the house. Iranian officials have said they are investigating the matter.
- The Milak Crossing is an important border crossing between Iran and Afghanistan, located 260 km northeast of Zahedan in the Hirmand border region of Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
Back story: Last week at the site, a video emerged that Taliban forces were transporting a detainee of the Iranian border forces along with violence.
- Iranian border guard was released hours after the video was released, but the harsh treatment of Taliban forces provoked a backlash.
- The Taliban and Iranian border guards have clashed from time to time at the border even as the Afghan embassy in Tehran was recently handed over to the Taliban.
Zoom out: Meanwhile, take note that even though clashes at the borders are a frequent occurrence, Iran’s trade center and a permanent exhibition of Iranian products was inaugurated in Kabul on Sunday.
- The Iranian Embassy in Afghanistan mentioned that the purpose of opening this center is to take a fundamental step in the development of trade relations between the two countries of Iran and Afghanistan.
- The embassy added that this center will be a place for Afghan businessmen to familiarize themselves with Iranian products.
- The increase of exports to Afghanistan with the establishment of a permanent trade center for Iranian goods in Kabul is considered the beginning of a new chapter in the economic relations between the two countries.
- Iran exported 4.187 million tons of commodities worth $1.839 billion to Afghanistan in the previous Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20, 2022) to register a 20-percent decline in terms of value compared to the preceding year.
