Iran warns about ‘suspicious’ moves to disrupt Iran-Afghanistan ties

Iran has warned about “suspicious” moves by those who seek to disrupt cordial relations between Tehran and Kabul, after a video purportedly showing Afghan nationals being insulted by Iranians went viral.

The Iranian Police issued an announcement on Friday suggesting the video published on social media with regards to insulting Afghan nationals was basically untrue, and that the incident in question had not happened in Iran.

In a separate statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh expressed regret over such incidents, wherever in the world they might occur.

He called on the government and officials of the brotherly and friendly country of Afghanistan to be more careful with releasing news and not to rush when issuing official statements.

“At a time when the Khaf-Herat railroad is to be inaugurated by both countries’ presidents in the coming days as the symbol of extensive cooperation between the two sides, it is inevitably necessary to be wary of suspicious actions by those who are against [Iran-Afghanistan] relations,” Khatibzadeh noted.

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“Iran and Afghanistan are two friendly and neighboring countries with a common culture and a historical background of unity and cooperation,” the Iranian police said in its statement.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported Afghanistan despite all the problems and cruel sanctions, and will do so in the future,” it added.

It said Afghan people have entered Iran in the past decades because of the numerous problems they faced, and Iran has always warmly received and hosted them as its brothers and sisters.

However, it added, enemies are not pleased with this empathy and humanitarian interaction between the two sides, and make mischievous moves every now and then.

“They spare no effort to destroy trust between the two countries, but the people of Iran and Afghanistan will always stand by each other and these tensions will not disrupt their cordial relations,” it added.

Similar efforts to disrupt Iran-Afghanistan relations were also made earlier this year after two incidents in which Afghan nationals were killed.

The first was in May, when a group of 54 Afghan migrants allegedly sought to enter Iran, but were thrown into Harirud, on the border between Iran and Afghanistan.

Western media claimed that Iranian border guards killed the migrants by forcing them into the river at gunpoint. Eighteen were reportedly drowned, among them a 12-year-old boy. However, Iran categorically rejected the claims.

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In the next incident, on the third of June, a bus fire on the road from the Iranian central city of Yazd, went as such: the car was transporting illegal Afghan refugees or entrants to other cities.

When the police became suspicious and the driver refused to stop, the police shot at one of the back tires of the car, which caught fire after skidding on the asphalt for some eight kilometers due to its high speed. Finally, it hit the center guardrail, and eventually caught fire. This was also used as a pretext to impact Tehran-Kabul relations.

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