According to the news of Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, based on its sources in the region, clashes broke out between the Taliban border forces and Iranian border guards near the Sasuli Police Station in the Hirmand district of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province.
According to the Iranian official agency IRNA, in a statement made by the Border Guard Command, it was stated that 2 Iranian soldiers were killed and 2 injured in clashes on the border. It was reported that Taliban forces inflicted many casualties in the clashes.
In the statement, it was stated that the commander of the Sasuli Police Station was killed by the Taliban last week, and detailed information will be announced later.
Taliban blame Iran
The Ministry of Defense of the Taliban interim government announced that Iranian soldiers opened fire in the border area of Kang district of Nimroz province, causing clashes between the two sides.
The ministry stated that “it is not in any party’s interest to make excuses to start war and engage in negative behavior”, adding that the Taliban administration sees dialogue as the most reasonable way to resolve any problem.
Abdulnafi Tekur, spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior of the Taliban, said in a statement on his Twitter account that one person from both sides lost their lives and many others were injured as a result of the conflict.
Sistan and Balochistan Transport and Highways General Manager Ayub Kurd noted that due to the recent clashes on the Iran-Afghanistan border, all commercial activities on the Afghanistan-Malik border were suspended until further notice.
Iran: Responded to Taliban fire
Iranian Police Department Deputy Commander-in-Chief Kasım Rızayi announced that the Taliban forces started to open fire on the Sasuli Police Station on the border with heavy weapons at around 10:00 local time and the Iranian border guards responded to the fire.
Rızayi stated that the clashes that ended later started a few hours ago and continued.
Ahmed Reza Radan, Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Police Force, also instructed the border guards to respond decisively to “any border violation and aggression”.
There has been tension between Iran and the Taliban over the water sharing on the Hilmend River in recent days.
While the Taliban administration argues that due to the drought in the region, the amount of water in the Keceki Dam and Kemal Han rivers on the Hilmend River has decreased, and therefore water does not reach Iran, Iran states that a technical delegation should visit the dams and confirm this situation.
After the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, the border forces of Pakistan and Iran clashed with the Taliban from time to time.