On 27 May 2023, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Iranian border guards clashed along the

Afghanistan–Iran border The Afghanistan–Iran border is in length and runs from the tripoint with Turkmenistan in the north to the tripoint with Pakistan in the south. Description The border begins at the tripoint with Turkmenistan in the Harirud river before proc ...

between the Afghan

Nimruz Province Nimruz or Nimroz (Balochi language, Balochi: ; Dari, Pashto language, Pashto: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and nor ...

and the Iranian Sistan and Baluchestan province. After a brief clash, the two sides de-escalated the situation.

Background

Iran's rights to the Helmand water

Iran and Afghanistan have been fighting over water rights in the

Helmand River The Helmand river (Pashto/Dari: ; Ancient Greek: Ἐτύμανδρος, ''Etýmandros''; Latin: '), also spelled Helmend, or Helmund, Hirmand, is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primary watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin. It o ...

since the 1870s. Disputes flared up again after the river changed course in 1896. In 1939, the two countries signed an accord to share water rights, but it was never ratified. According to a 1973 treaty, Iran was supposed to receive a share of 820 million cubic meters of the river each year. In 1979, when relations between the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, later known as the Republic of Afghanistan, was the Afghan state between History of Afghanistan (1978–1992), 1978 and 1992. It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the ...

and the newly formed Islamic Republic of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

soured, Hafizullah Amin announced that the DRA was not bound by old treaties with Iran. Amin's statements provoked a sharp response from Iran which claimed Afghanistan was using

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

backing to assert themselves in the region. During

Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan former politician and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was 2021 Taliban offensive, overthrown by the Ta ...

's presidency, Afghanistan began building a number of new dams, such as the

Salma Dam The Salma Dam, officially named Afghan-India Friendship Dam, is an embankment dam located on the Hari River in Chishti Sharif District of Herat Province in western Afghanistan. It has a hydroelectric power station that produces 42 MW of electri ...

across the Harirud river and the

Kamal Khan Dam Kamal Khan Dam (, ) is a hydroelectric and irrigation dam project on the Helmand River in Chahar Burjak District of Nimruz Province in south-western Afghanistan. It is located about 95 km to the southeast of Zaranj. Construction work on th ...

across the Helmand river. According to historian

Mustafa Hamid Mustafa Hamid (; born March 1945), also known as Abu Walid al-Masri () and Hashim al-Makki (), is an Egyptian journalist who in the 1980s fought as an Islamic jihad volunteer during the Soviet–Afghan War. He is reported to have been an al-Qaeda ...

, the Kamal Khan dam was designed to complicate relations between Iran and Afghanistan, and did not benefit Afghanistan. Water sharing arrangements with Iran have been ongoing since the Taliban came to power. On 18 May 2023, Iranian president

Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...

warned the Taliban not to violate Iran's water rights, urging them to implement the 1973 treaty.

Iran–Taliban relations

Relations between

, a primarily

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

country, and the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

, dominated by

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

fundamentalists, have historically been highly volatile. During the Taliban's rule of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, 10 Iranian diplomats and an Iranian journalist from the consulate in

Mazar-i-Sharif Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highway ...

were executed, in an incident condemned by the Taliban. This led to a military mobilization by Iran, which was resolved with the mediation of the United Nations. During the 2001 U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan, Iran cooperated with the U.S. forces and Iranian special forces supported the

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...

during the Herat uprising. After

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's 2002 "

axis of evil The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by U.S. president George W. Bush and originally referred to Iran, Ba'athist Iraq, and North Korea. It was used in Bush's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, less than five months after the ...

" speech, Iran improved its relations with the Taliban. During the war, the U.S., UK, and the

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan Afghan Interim Administration, interim (2001–2002) and Transitional Islamic State of Afghanist ...

accused Iran of providing sanctuaries and material support to the Taliban. In 2017, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan accused Iran of aiding the Taliban in their offensive against the Afghan government forces in western Afghanistan and claimed that Iran had tried to destroy a dam in

Herat province Herat ( Dari: هرات) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the western part of the country. Together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the north-western region of Afghanistan. Its primary city a ...

. Iran has denied all accusations of providing support to the Taliban. In mid-2021, the Taliban, allegedly supported by Iran, reestablished its rule over Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal from the country. On 1 December 2021, the

2021 Afghanistan–Iran clashes The 2021 Afghanistan–Iran clashes took place between the Islamic Emirate Armed Forces and the Border Guard Command (Iran), Iranian Border Guard Command along checkpoints on the Afghanistan–Iran border. The clashes occurred on the 1st of Dec ...

occurred between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Both sides called it an accident.

Clashes

Official statement issued by both sides as to how the clashes took place differed significantly, with each side blaming the other. Inayatullah Khwarazmi, spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Defence, stated: "Unfortunately, today once again in the border areas of

Kang district Kang District ( Balochi: , Dari: ) is a district of Nimruz Province in Afghanistan. It has a population of about 13,514 , which is 70% ethnic Baloch, 15% Pashtun, and 15% Tajik. Notable people * Rouh Gul Khairzad (born 1974), politician Se ...

of Nimroz province, there was a shooting by Iranian soldiers, nda conflict ... broke out." , the deputy chief of Iranian law enforcement, stated: "Without observing international laws and good neighbourliness, Taliban forces started shooting at the Sasuli checkpoint ... drawing a decisive response." According to Iran's

Tasnim News Agency Tasnim News Agency () is a semi-official news agency in Iran associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Launched in 2012, its purpose is to cover a variety of political, social, economic and international subjects along with ma ...

, the clashes began when a group of armed drug smugglers attempted to cross into Iran, and Iranian forces fired on them. Local Afghan forces, unaware of what was happening, assumed that the Iranian forces were attacking them, and a clash ensued. Afghan forces then attempted to attack the border villages of Sasuli, Hatam, and Makaki, and were repelled. Iranian border guard forces made use of artillery during the clashes but denied claims regarding the use of missiles.

Aftermath

Iran reopened the border with Afghanistan at the Abrisham bridge on 28 May, which had been closed previously due to the clashes. The Iranian Embassy in Kabul and Afghan officials established contact afterwards to look into the incident. Iranian general

Kioumars Heydari Kioumars Heydari () is an Iranian general. , he was Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces. Biography Heydari was appointed as the Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces in November 2016. In 2022, He ...

and deputy chief of Iranian law enforcement Ghasem Rezaei also held a joint meeting with Afghan officials in

Zabol Zabol () is a city in the Central District of Zabol County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Zabol is near the border with Afghanistan. Demographics Language and ethnicity The ...

city, discussing how to prevent such incidents in the future. On 29 May 2023, after the end of the clashes, Iranian Interior Minister

Ahmad Vahidi Ahmad Shahcheraghi (, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi (), is an Iranian military commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former Iranian Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024. He is currently member of th ...

described the situation on the Iranian-Afghan border as follows:

"At present, we have no problem. The border crossing is open for travels and is tranquil".

Afghan officials called for diplomacy as the solution to problems, claiming that the problems at the border had been addressed, with Afghanistan's foreign ministry adding that the country has no intention of conflict with Iran. Zia-Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated:

"We don’t want relations with our neighboring countries to deteriorate ... The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is never in favor of escalation".

Members of the Afghan prime minister's political commission also called for good relations with Iran, in response to the clashes. Additionally, Afghanistan's chargés d'affaires in Islamabad Sardar Ahmad Khan Shakib stated:

"The Afghan Taliban never wants its relations with its neighbors to be influenced, and according to the Islamic principles, we will not take any steps to violate the rights of our neighbor Iran".

References