DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Taliban and Iran exchanged heavy gunfire Saturday on the Islamic Republic’s border with Afghanistan, killing and wounding troops whereas sharply escalating rising tensions between the 2 nations amid a dispute over water rights.
Iran’s state-run IRNA information company quoted the nation’s deputy police chief, Gen. Qassem Rezaei, accusing the Taliban of opening hearth first Saturday morning on the border of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province and the Afghan province of Nimroz. IRNA stated Iran inflicted “heavy casualties and critical injury.”
From the Taliban’s view, Afghan Inside Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor accused Iran of taking pictures first. Takor stated the firefight killed two folks, one from every nation, and wounded others. He described the state of affairs as now being below management.
IRNA, quoting Iranian police, stated one border guard had been killed. Nevertheless, that quantity could also be greater. The semiofficial, English-language newspaper Tehran Occasions stated the preventing killed three Iranian border guards. IRNA stated the Milak border crossing with Afghanistan, a significant commerce route, was closed till additional discover over the gunfight.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers dialogue to be an affordable means for any drawback,” Afghan Protection Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khawarazmi stated in an announcement. “Making excuses for warfare and adverse actions is just not within the curiosity of any of the events.”
The advocacy group HalVash, which reviews on points affecting the Baluch folks within the predominately Sunni province of Sistan and Baluchestan, quoted residents within the space saying the preventing happened close to the Kang district of Nimroz. It stated some folks within the space had fled the violence.
Movies posted on-line, purportedly from the realm, included the crackle of machine gun hearth within the distance. HalVash later posted a picture of what gave the impression to be the stays of a mortar spherical, saying that “heavy weapons and mortars are getting used.” A later video from HalVash purported to indicate Iranian forces firing a mortar.
“The border forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will decisively reply to any border trespassing and aggression, and the present authorities of Afghanistan should be held accountable for his or her unmeasured and opposite actions to worldwide ideas,” IRNA quoted Iran’s police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, as saying.
The conflict comes as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi earlier this month warned the Taliban to not violate Iran’s water rights to the Helmand River. Raisi’s remarks represented a few of the strongest but over the long-running issues about water in Iran.
Drought has been an issue in Iran for some 30 years, however has worsened over the previous decade, in keeping with the U.N.’s Meals and Agriculture Group. The Iran Meteorological Group says that an estimated 97% of the nation now faces some stage of drought.
The Taliban seized Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops had been within the remaining weeks of their pullout from the nation after 20 years of warfare. Within the time since, Afghanistan has turn into probably the most repressive on the planet for girls and women, depriving them of just about all their fundamental rights, in keeping with the U.N. Starvation stays endemic.
Whereas circuitously accepting the Taliban authorities, Iran has maintained relations with Afghanistan’s new rulers. Tehran additionally has referred to as on the Taliban to permit ladies and women to go to highschool.
Earlier on Saturday, the Taliban’s Performing International Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with an Iranian envoy to Afghanistan to debate the Helmand River water rights, in keeping with tweets from Afghan International Ministry official Zia Ahmad. IRNA acknowledged the assembly, saying “that points between the 2 nations will probably be higher resolved by way of dialogue.”
However tensions have in any other case been rising. One other video posted on-line in current days purportedly confirmed a standoff with Iranian forces and the Taliban as Iranian building employees tried to strengthen the border between the 2 nations.
In current days, pro-Taliban accounts on-line even have been sharing a video with a music calling on the performing protection minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, to face as much as Iran. Mullah Yaqoob is the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban’s late founder and first supreme chief.
“We’re a authorities, we’ve energy,” the music goes. “Our chief Mullah Yaqoob will stand in opposition to Iran or we’re not the republic’s authorities. We aren’t slaves, our chief Mullah Yaqoob will stand in opposition to Iran.”
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Related Press writers Rahim Faiez in Islamabad and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.