Taliban Holds War Games Near Border With Iran
Amid rising tensions between Iran and Afghanistan, Taliban forces carried out a military drill near the border with Iran on Thursday.
Amid rising tensions between Iran and Afghanistan, Taliban forces carried out a military drill near the border with Iran on Thursday.
According to the state-run Bakhtar News Agency, the Taliban military held a war game in Nimruz,located in the southwestern part of the country and to the east of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province.
The drills came amidst growing tensions, fueled by a decades-old water dispute. Iran has accused Afghanistan's Taliban of violating a 1973 treaty by restricting the flow of water from the Helmand River to Iran's parched eastern regions, an accusation denied by the Taliban.
During May, a series of incidents escalated to bring tensions between the two countries to their worst in years, the deadliest of which seeing two Iranian soldiers and one Taliban fighter killed after shooting broke out near a border post.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had earlier warned the Taliban over disregarding Iran's water rights under the 1973 treaty while the Taliban rejected the perceived threat, with a former Taliban official mocking the president in a video that went viral.
Evidence also surfaced late last month showing a convoy of Taliban tanks deployed from Herat to Islam Qala on the border with Iran with forces seen stationed in the region with heavy military equipment, suggesting a more heavily armed presence than before the water dispute escalated.
During a joint presser with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on his last day his visit on Thursday, Blinken said Washington and Riyadh, together with the GCC, are “focused on Iran’s destabilizing influence in the region, including its support for terrorism and violent militia groups, the seizure of tankers transiting international waters, and nuclear escalation.”
While the United States and Iran both denied reports that they were nearing an interim deal Thursday, Blinken added that “the United States continues to believe that diplomacy, backed by economic pressure, by deterrence, and by strong defense cooperation, is the best way to avoid and counter these dangerous actions.”
He noted that the US supports efforts by Saudi Arabia to de-escalate tension and stabilize relations, without elaborating on details.
Among the main points on agenda in Blinken’s trip was pushing Riyadh for normalize ties with Israel, about which his Saudi counterpart said that “it’s quite clear that we believe that normalization is in the interest of the region, that it would bring significant benefits to all.”
However, he added “without finding a pathway to peace for the Palestinian people, without addressing that challenge, any normalization will have limited benefits.”
