Hekmatyar Warns US Could Face Soviet-Like Collapse If War With Iran Fails

Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zia Ahmad Takal said the discussions centred on both the immediate and long-term consequences of the war, including its economic impact on the region.

The meeting, organised by the Strategic Studies Centre of the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry, was attended by several senior officials. According to Takal, the group evaluated various scenarios stemming from the conflict and how they might influence Afghanistan’s security, economy and diplomatic positioning.

Separately, credible sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban’s intelligence agency convened a confidential meeting to analyse the possible collapse of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Intelligence officials reportedly view the emergence of a democratic government in Iran as a potential threat to the Taliban’s ideological and strategic interests.

On Thursday, local farmers and community members reportedly took up arms in response to a counter-narcotics operation by the Taliban. Protesters clashed with Taliban forces and set fire to at least three tractors used to destroy the crops.

Videos received by Afghanistan International show multiple tractors engulfed in flames. Sources said the machinery had been sent by the Taliban’s counter-narcotics directorate as part of a broader effort to eliminate opium cultivation in the region.

According to witnesses, Taliban forces opened fire on protesters, though no casualties have yet been confirmed. Following the confrontation, Taliban helicopters were seen patrolling the skies over Khash and neighbouring Jurm districts.

Taliban officials in Badakhshan have not issued a statement regarding the incident.

A similar clash occurred on 24 May in Farghamanch village, Jurm district, where at least one civilian was killed during a protest against poppy field destruction. Last year, Taliban eradication efforts in the province also met resistance from local communities.

The remarks were made during a meeting on Thursday, 19 June, with Per Albert Ilsaas, Norway’s chargé d’affaires to Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Muttaqi and the Norwegian diplomat discussed regional developments and bilateral ties. He welcomed Norway’s acceptance of a Taliban-appointed diplomat, describing it as “a positive step toward strengthening relations and building trust.”

Norway’s chargé d’affaires reportedly said that a Norwegian delegation will soon visit Kabul to assess the country’s ongoing engagement with the Taliban authorities.

Norway is one of the few European countries to have established working relations with the Taliban, despite not formally recognising the group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Najibullah Sherkhan, a Taliban appointee, was recently accepted as First Secretary at the Afghan Embassy in Norway, a move that drew criticism from European civil society activists and women’s rights groups.

In January 2022, Norway became the first European nation to host a high-level Taliban delegation in Oslo. However, its Foreign Ministry later announced it would reduce engagement due to the Taliban’s continued restrictions on women’s rights.

The victim, identified as Abdulwali, was originally from Murghab district in Afghanistan’s Ghor province. His father said Abdulwali had travelled to Iran six months ago in search of work.

Eyewitnesses reported that Abdulwali and the five injured men, also Afghan nationals, were working on a construction site when the strikes hit. The injured are believed to be residents of Murghab, Charsadda, and other central districts of Ghor.

A video obtained by Afghanistan International captures the moments following the attack, with an Afghan worker urging Abdulwali and his colleagues to evacuate the building as explosions are heard in the background. The worker can be heard repeatedly calling Abdulwali’s name in distress.

In recent days, reports have emerged of Afghan migrants in Iran being killed in Israeli airstrikes, although the total number of casualties remains unconfirmed. Iranian officials have yet to comment on the impact of the strikes on foreign nationals.

According to a statement from the Taliban’s Supreme Court, the punishments were carried out following court rulings that also included prison sentences ranging from seven months to two years. The individuals received between 10 and 39 lashes each in public.

In Kabul, the Taliban’s counter-narcotics court sentenced seven people to public flogging for alleged involvement in the sale and trafficking of hashish, methamphetamine (locally known as “shisha”), alcohol, and various banned pills, including “tablet-K.”

Separately, in Samangan province, a man and a woman were flogged in the Hazrat Sultan district court after being found guilty of “running away from home” and “sexual relations outside of marriage.” The floggings were carried out in the presence of local officials, court staff, and residents, the court said.

Despite widespread international condemnation from human rights organisations over the use of corporal punishment, the Taliban continue to carry out public floggings, which they describe as enforcement of Islamic Sharia law.