Iran Summons Afghan Chargé D'affaires Over Tensions
Iran summoned Afghanistan’s chargé d'affaires over an attack Herat consulate on Monday, and suspended services of all its consular missions across the country.
Iran summoned Afghanistan’s chargé d'affaires over an attack Herat consulate on Monday, and suspended services of all its consular missions across the country.
The head of the South Asia Department at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Rasoul Mousavi, said on Tuesday that the missions of the Islamic Republic will resume their services once Afghanistan ensures their security.
Protestors Monday attacked the Iranian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, hurling stones, smashing security cameras, and burning tires before they were dispersed by Taliban security. Earlier on Monday, demonstrators outside Iran’s embassy in Kabul held banners with pictures of refugees and the words "Isn't Afghan a human being?"
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi also said on Tuesday that the attacks have been organized by “the enemy” and aimed at sowing discord between Iran and Afghanistan.
Warning of efforts on social media to whip up anti-Iranian sentiment over alleged mistreatment of Afghan immigrants in Iran, foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called on Taliban officials to ensure the security of Iran’s embassy in Kabul and its missions across Afghanistan.
Sectarian tensions have risen since last week’s killing of two Shia clerics in Imam Reza shrine, Mashhad, attributed to an Afghan migrant. Many Afghans are in Iran unofficially, with numbers increasing since the Taliban took Kabul last year as the United States ended its 20-year military presence.
