Tensions have risen recently between the Taliban and Iran over the shared Helmand River.
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The Taliban threatened on Sunday that it could conquer Iran as tensions increase over water disputes between Afghanistan and Iran, leaving at least three people dead.
Senior Taliban commander Abdulhamid Khorasani, aka Nasser Badri, has in a video message warned that the group will fight against Iranians "with more passion" than they did against the US forces.
"We will conquer Iran soon if Taliban's leaders give the green light for jihad." pic.twitter.com/dodCIyUXp3— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) May 27, 2023
In a video released by the Taliban, a senior commander in the terrorist organization running Afghanistan warned that the Taliban would fight the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard “with more passion” than they fought the US forces. He added that the Taliban “will conquer Iran soon if the Taliban’s leaders give the green light.
As well as the Taliban commander’s video, another video released by the terrorist organization taunting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi went viral on social media. In the video a Taliban member fills a single yellow jerrycan with water, sarcastically telling Raisi “Mr. Raisi, take this water barrel and don’t attack, we’re terrified.”
Clarifying the reason behind the clashes
Iranian media has not explained what the clashes are about, claiming only in one report that they were to do with drug trafficking. Iran also claims that the Taliban shot at IRGC officers on the border first. The Taliban, however, claim the opposite.
Other media sources including the Associated Press (AP) and Iran International report that the clashes happened over a water dispute, a report that would explain the Taliban’s video.