TEHRAN— Iran’s interior minister believes that sporadic border clashes with the Taliban border guards are due to their unawareness of the demarcation of Iran-Afghanistan borders, stressing that the matter should be resolved through dialogue.

Speaking in a presser on Saturday, Ahmad Vahidi said, “So far, we have had five to six shootings by the Taliban border guards, which is due to the lack of awareness by the Taliban border guards, and each time it has been resolved by contacting Kabul and has not turned serious.”

He then noted that it is necessary to resolve these issues peacefully and through negotiating with the people stationed at the borders and the Taliban forces.

“We are also trying to avoid sensitivity at the borders and we hope that the matter will be managed and controlled,” Vahidi stated.

Regarding the conflicts with the Taliban border guards and the possibility of blocking the border, the interior minister ruled out such a possibility, saying, “This issue is not on the agenda.”

On August 1, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the Iranian special envoy for Afghanistan, said that a meeting was held with the Taliban defense officials in the wake of the recent border clashes during which it was agreed to form a joint committee to prevent the recurrence of border clashes.

Following a border clash in the Hirmand region, a meeting was held on July 31 between the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Ministry of Defense of the Taliban government.

“The Ministry of Defense of the Taliban government, in contact with the border guard forces in Afghanistan, instructed them to avoid clashes, and included on the agenda the formation of a joint committee to avoid the repetition of such practices,” Kazemi Qomi stated. 

On July 31 evening, a border clash in the Hirmand border area took place between Iran and Afghanistan, according to press reports.

In this regard, the local governor of the Hirmand district said, “A clash took place between the Iranian border guards and the border guards of the Taliban authority in the Shallak area of the Hirmand district.”

He indicated that the Taliban forces crossed the borders and the Iranian border guards responded as necessary, and then the Taliban responded, but there were no casualties, according to Al Alam.

A security official in Nimroz province told Fars that the Taliban forces were patrolling in an area close to the border with Iran, and they clashed with the border guards of the opposite side, and the two sides exchanged fire.

“In this clash, a member of the Taliban was killed and another wounded, and some residential areas were damaged,” he added. 

As for the reason for the clash, the security source explained that the Iranian border guards announced that the area in which the Taliban carried out their patrol is part of Iran's territory, and the Taliban forces had no right to enter it.