Clashes Between Taliban and Iranian Forces in Border Areas

Tasnim News Agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, confirmed the occurrence of this clash in the Shighalak area near Nimruz Province, but described it as a result of a “border misunderstanding” between Iranian border guard forces and the Taliban.

Tasnim reported that the clash has now ended and Iran is “currently clarifying the border line to the Taliban.”

In explaining how this incident occurred, the news agency stated: “The matter is as follows: over the past years, walls have been constructed within Iranian territory and several hundred meters from the border with Afghanistan to counter smugglers and outlaws. Today, some Iranian farmers crossed these walls while remaining within Iranian borders, but due to the existence of these walls, Taliban forces believed that their border had been violated.”

Tasnim quoted an informed official as calling reports of the seizure of Iranian border posts “fundamentally false” and wrote that the images circulated are from the initial moments of the clash, and “currently border forces have complete control over the country’s borders.”

Fars News Agency also reported the end of clashes between “armed individuals” and Iranian forces at the Iran-Afghanistan border.

Fars wrote: “This afternoon, a number of armed individuals in Nimruz Province, Afghanistan, near the border area of Shighalak village in Helmand district, opened fire on Iranian farmers.”

According to this report, Iranian border guards immediately responded to this attack, and this confrontation continued for several minutes with “semi-heavy weapons.”

Fars writes that this attack resulted in no casualties and has ended, and currently “peace prevails” in the area. Furthermore, this border clash “occurred in an area where Taliban’s official border guards have not yet been stationed and groups of outlaws and drug smugglers remain active.”

This is the first serious border clash between Iran and the Taliban since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Response

According to ISNA, Said Khatibzadeh, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday evening regarding reports published about “clashes in the border area of Sistan with Nimruz Province in Afghanistan”: “A misunderstanding among border residents this afternoon caused shooting in the Sistan border area, which was managed and resolved through coordination between the border guards of both sides.”

Since this group took control of Afghanistan, some in Iran have repeatedly warned about “excessive optimism” regarding this group and called on Islamic Republic officials to remain vigilant against them.

In November, Hasan Kazemi Qomi, special representative of Ibrahim Raisi, Iran’s president, for talks with Taliban officials, traveled to Kabul.

Iran’s embassy in Afghanistan stated in a tweet that the purpose of this visit was to discuss with senior Taliban officials “regional issues, migrants, humanitarian assistance, formation of an inclusive government, and especially economic matters.”