Era of Iran’s Influence Over Afghanistan Is Finished, Says Former Iranian Official

AFF stated that this operation had been carried out on Tuesday night.

AFF has published a video clip of the operation at Faizabad airport on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

The Taliban have not yet commented on the attack of the Afghanistan Freedom Front.

NRF stressed that it has carried out a targeted attack on the base of the "terrorist Taliban" forces in Morghzaarji area of Shuhada district of Badakhshan province.

In a statement, NRF added that one of the members of the front has also been killed in the attack.

NRF stated that in the attack a member of the Taliban has also been wounded and NRF forces confiscated three rifles too.

The Taliban has not reacted to the NRF reports so far.

NRF is one of the military fronts formed against the Taliban after the group’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran asked for clarification regarding the attack as a definite demand of the Islamic Republic.

On the 25th anniversary of the killing of Iranian diplomats in Mazar-e-Sharif, Amir-Abdollahian also published the photos of the Iranian diplomats and the journalist killed during the attack.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, which issued a statement on the anniversary of the killing of Iranian diplomats, refused to name the Taliban as the perpetrators of the Mazar-e-Sharif attack.

Iranian foreign ministry stressed, "Twenty-five years ago, in the midst of the civil war of Afghanistan, following the Taliban forces’ takeover of Mazar-e-Sharif city, contrary to moral, humanitarian and international obligations, the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran was attacked, and the diplomats and the journalist of the Republic Islamic Iran were martyred."

The Taliban has not claimed responsibility for the attack on the Iranian consulate yet.

Iranian foreign ministry, while asking for clarification about the 1998 attack on the country’s consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif city, stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the way forward for Afghanistan is to form an inclusive government from all ethnic, religious, and political groups of Afghans.

However, after the Taliban’s emergence to power for the second time in Afghanistan in August 2021, the group has established close ties with the Islamic Republic. In the past months, the foreign ministers of Iran and the Taliban have met and discussed bilateral issues on several occasions.

After the Taliban regained control, the Islamic Republic was one of the few countries that kept its embassy in Kabul. This country handed over the Afghan embassy in Tehran to the Taliban despite protests from the political opponents of the group.

On the anniversary of the killing of eight Iranian diplomats and one journalist, Zarif stressed that their actions (killing) on August 8, 1998 “is a symbol of connection between media and diplomacy”.

The former foreign minister of Iran delivered a brief message on a Telegram channel of Iranian journalists.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran said that after the Taliban’s attack on Mazar-e-Sharif city in 1998, “the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran was attacked, and diplomats and a journalist of the Islamic Republic of Iran were martyred”.

Taliban entered Mazar-e-Sharif city on August 8, 1998. According to reports, the Taliban fighters killed eight diplomats and one Iranian journalist after entering the Iranian consulate in the city. However, the Taliban has not taken responsibility for this attack.

Twenty-five years after this incident, ministry of foreign affairs of Iran has once again asked for clarification of the killing.

Iran's Foreign Ministry has emphasised that after years of conflict and instability in Afghanistan, Iran seeks the formation of an inclusive government with the participation of all ethnic, religious, and political groups.

In a statement, the Taliban consulate in Karachi added that these Afghan citizens have been transferred to Afghanistan.

The Taliban diplomatic representation in Karachi has not revealed the reasons behind the imprisonment of these Afghan citizens. However, the consulate stressed that negotiations are underway to release the remaining Afghan prisoners.

After the Taliban stopped the distribution of passports in Afghanistan, many Afghans have been forced to enter Pakistan and Iran illegally. These Afghans mostly fled the country due to the Taliban’s restrictive policies.

Pakistani officials have recently said that at least 750,000 Afghans who entered the country have not returned to Afghanistan.

This is even though the Pakistani police have repeatedly arrested Afghan immigrants in this country over the past two years.

Human rights groups said that Pakistani police have deported hundreds of Afghans to Afghanistan despite being at risk of retaliation from the Taliban.