TEHRAN - The Iranian embassy in Kabul issued a statement urging Iranian citizens to refrain from traveling to Afghanistan until further notice due to escalating security risks.

The Iranian embassy stressed that if citizens urgently need an emergency trip to Afghanistan, they can travel to Kabul only for a limited time and with the assurance of a return flight, with prior coordination with the embassy.

The statement noted that citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran who live and work in the cities and regions of Afghanistan, with the exception of Kabul, are advised to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Clashes between the Afghan government and the Taliban have intensified in recent weeks as the United States started withdrawing its troops from the war-torn country after 20 years of occupation. 

Iran, as a neighboring country, stepped in to de-escalate the tensions and help bring peace to Afghanistan by establishing contacts with both sides of the conflict. To this end, Iranian diplomats traveled to Kabul to meet Afghan leaders. They also hosted in Tehran meetings between the Taliban and the other Afghan stakeholders.

In late July, Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian, the special representative of the Iranian Foreign Ministry for Afghanistan, and his accompanying delegation met with Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar in Kabul, discussing the latest developments surrounding Afghanistan.

Taherian assured the Afghan foreign minister of Tehran’s support for the peace process in Afghanistan while maintaining the achievements the Afghans have made over the past two decades.

The special envoy also called for further cooperation between Kabul and Tehran in various areas, including border cooperation and coordination between different sectors.

According to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Atmar said he appreciates the reasonable stances of Iran in supporting peace efforts, ending violence, putting an end to arbitrary killings and torture of civilians, and human rights violations in the territories captured by the Taliban.