How Iran's 'Miscalculation' Opened the Way for Taliban's Territorial Claims

Aug 29, 2023 | New Arab
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In August 2021, the Taliban fighters seized control of the entire country through a rapid military campaign after a two-decade war. As the Taliban marched the country, the Afghan army, funded and trained by Americans and NATO, collapsed in less than two months. Since the resurgence of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, an ongoing military confrontation has persisted between Taliban fighters and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the border separating the two countries.

The conflict revolves around over 2,000 hectares of agricultural land within Iran. This land is situated between a border wall constructed by Iran on its own territory to curb narcotics, petrol, and human trafficking. Many Iranian experts believe erecting the wall was a "grave miscalculation".

In reply to statements from Iran's foreign ministry officials, asserting that Iran had not conceded any territory to the Taliban, Molazehi stressed: "Now the Taliban considers the very wall we erected as the boundary line, and the declarations of Iranian officials hold little significance."