Iran: Borders secure amid reports of Taliban seizure of key crossing

“Borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran are in full tranquility and security due to the zealous border guards of our country, and there is no insecurity on our country’s border with Afghanistan,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, according to Press TV. 

Given clashes in Islam Qala and in Sheikh Abu Nasr Farahi crossings inside Afghanistan’s territory, a number of Afghan workers came to Iran, he added.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will take the necessary measures in accordance with the laws and regulations and in line with border agreements with Afghanistan and within the framework of good neighborliness,” Khatibzadeh said.

In relevant remarks earlier in the day, Deputy Chief of the Iranian Army Ground Force’s Operations Brigadier General Farhad Arianfar said full security is maintained along the country’s eastern borders.

He announced this during a visit to Iran’s eastern borders.

“With the Iranian Ground Force’s vigilant presence and efforts along hundreds of kilometers of the eastern borders, as well as the efforts of zealous border guards in the border areas in Sistan and Baluchestan Province and coordination with the dear forces of the Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC), we closely monitor the slightest movements near the borders and will not allow the slightest illegal motion through these borders.”

“The southeastern and eastern borders of the country are under 24-hour surveillance and are fully secure,” Brigadier General Arianfar added.

In a statement on Thursday, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) urged businesses not to send export shipments to two main border crossings with Afghanistan after reports showed that Taliban militants had occupied facilities on the other side of the border.

IRICA spokesman Rouhollah Latifi said trade had been halted through Dogharoun and Mahirood border crossings located along Iran’s eastern border with Afghanistan.

The Taliban militant group said it will try to shortly put back into operation the Islam Qala border crossing in Herat Province.

Islam Qala is the second key border crossing the Taliban have captured since they launched a sweeping offensive in early May.

Border guards return demanded

The Afghan government has demanded that Iran make the necessary preparations for the return of the country’s border guards to Kabul which was accepted by Tehran, Nour News on Friday quoted an informed source at the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces as saying.

“Given its humanitarian approaches, Iran accepted the request and is making preparations for a direct flight to repatriate the [Afghan] border guards,” the source added.

Iran has repeatedly voiced its support for measures aimed at establishing peace in Afghanistan.

Amid the escalation of fighting in Afghanistan, Tehran hosted on Wednesday and Thursday four delegations, including representatives of the Afghan government and parliament, the Taliban group and prominent figures supporting the Republic system in the war-torn country.

The Afghan government’s delegation was headed by former vice president, Yunus Qanuni, while Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the head of Taliban’s political office in Qatar, led the Taliban delegation to Tehran.

Over the last week, the Taliban have overrun areas bordering five countries – Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China and Pakistan – amid the US withdrawal of its forces from the country to end its 20-year military intervention, which the White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Thursday has “not been won militarily”.

According to Russia, the Taliban currently control more than two-thirds of the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Moscow has urged all sides of the conflict to show restraint.

Karzai commendation

In addition, Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai extolled the recent meeting between Afghan government and Taliban delegations in Tehran as “an effective step toward peace in the country”, according to afghanistantimes.af.

He welcomed a joint statement by both parties, who met in Tehran, which called the continuation of war a threat to the country’s security and said that all efforts should be focused on finding a peaceful and political solution.

The former president also thanked Iran for its efforts in organizing and hosting the meeting and hoped that both sides would take more serious and effective steps for the success of the peace process.

At the end of the Tehran meeting, a joint statement was issued that said, “Both sides, with a common understanding of the dangers of continuing the war and the traumas that plague the country, agreed that war is not the solution to Afghanistan’s problems and that all efforts must be made to find a political solution to it.”

In addition, Najia Anwari, a spokeswoman for the Afghan State Ministry for Peace, has also lauded the talks in Tehran.

“This meeting is about building trust and creating ground for closer bilateral ties between Afghan and Taliban negotiators,” she said.

Anwari added the people of Afghanistan wanted to speed up the talks and reach a conclusion.

Source: Iran Daily