Iran: an Iranian guard killed in an "incident" on the border with Afghanistan

An Iranian border guard was killed in an "

" at a border crossing with Afghanistan, a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday (June 29th).

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“

,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.

He offered his condolences to the family of Mohammad Sayyad killed at the Milak border post, one of the main crossroads linking the two countries.

Afghan officials told AFP there had been no clashes between Iranian and Afghan forces near the border.

"

,” Nasser Kanani added.

Many Afghan refugees since the return of the Taliban

Iran, like many other countries, has so far failed to recognize the new government formed by the Taliban since they seized power in August 2021 after the hasty withdrawal of foreign forces.

Iran has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades, and this trend has continued since the return to power of the Taliban.

The two nations share the Persian language - known as Farsi in Iran and Dari in Afghanistan - but the majority of Afghans are Sunni Muslims compared to their predominantly Shia neighbors.

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Iran has long had strained relations with the Taliban, which attacked Tehran's consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998 and murdered 10 diplomats and a journalist.

Dozens of Afghans had demonstrated in April in Kabul to denounce the fate reserved by Iran for Afghan refugees, after the broadcast on social networks of videos showing some of them beaten by individuals presented as Iranians.