TEHRAN — On Tuesday, the Taliban announced the visit of Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, the group's Minister of Refugees, to Iran, following tensions on the Iranian-Afghan border.

According to the refugee ministry, the trip is scheduled to take place on the eve of Id al-Fitr.

Haqqani has said that the trip will focus on border issues, as well as the situation of Afghan refugees in Iran.

The visit comes as border tensions between Iran and Afghanistan have risen over the recent days.

The Taliban defense ministry announced on Monday that border tensions between the two sides have ended and the situation in the Islam Qala crossing has returned to normal after a day of suspension.

“The tensions between the two sides are based on a misunderstanding and have been fully resolved,” said Enayatullah Kharazmi, a spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of National Defense.

Earlier, Anamullah Samangani, the deputy spokesman for the interim Taliban governing body announced the Taliban delegation's visit to Iran, citing a telephone conversation between the Iranian foreign minister and the acting Taliban foreign minister.

According to the official, the Iranian and Afghan foreign ministries discussed the general problems of Afghan travelers and migrants in Iran, bilateral relations, diplomatic missions and the security of diplomats, trade, economy and other issues, and the two sides stated that they would not allow enemies to create resentment, pessimism and sedition between the people of Afghanistan and Iran through propaganda campaigns. 

"The Afghan delegation will travel to Iran in the near future to discuss Afghans living in the country," he added.

Iran says expects Taliban to act responsibly

In his weekly press briefing on Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed hope that the interim Taliban governing body won’t misuse Iran’s patience and goodwill.

Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks when asked about the recent border disputes between Iranian and Afghan border guards. 

“Our brave border guards on our border with Afghanistan have dealt with restraint to this day due to the internal situation in Afghanistan and the possible unfamiliarity of some of the border guards stationed by the interim Afghan governing body on the border. Of course, this issue and its repetition is a matter of concern,” Khatibzadeh pointed out.  

He added that Iran’s border guards have a responsibility and it is their duty to prevent any illegal trespass.

“We were prepared to give the necessary training to the Afghan border guards on demarcating border and so on,” he suggested. 

The spokesman reiterated that the recurrence of these issues is a matter of very serious concern to Tehran. 

“We have informed the interim governing body of Afghanistan in various ways, and we hope that this restraint would not lead to the misunderstanding and misuse of the other side.”