Iran ‘extremely concerned’ about diplomats’ fate in Herat | Abroad

He calls on the Taliban to respect the international rules that apply in diplomacy. The Taliban see Iran’s Shia and Afghanistan’s Shia minority as enemies. During the fighting in 1998, the Taliban captured the town of Mazar-i-Sharif and stormed the Iranian consulate. They killed ten Iranian diplomats and a journalist from the Iranian news agency IRNA.

Iran has anticipated the Taliban takeover in the neighboring country, according to observers, but the government is said to disagree on what policy should follow. Some think that, unlike in the past, it is now possible to talk to the Taliban. Another part fears that the situation in the neighboring country under the new generation of Taliban will be much worse. They point to the failed peace talks with the Taliban and the bloody offensive by the Sunni extremists. Iran also fears a refugee influx. Around 1980, millions of Afghans crossed the Iranian border. The large Hazara population in Afghanistan is Shia.

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