KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in southwestern Nimruz province reported that the Milak border also known as Abrisham Bridge, a key crossing point between Iran and Afghanistan, remains closed for the second consecutive day.
The border was closed yesterday, April 4, at around 2 pm local time. The Taliban and Iranian authorities said yesterday that it was closed due to a “minor issue,” claiming that it reopened a few hours after the closure.
Local sources, however, told KabulNow that the border was closed due to a conflict between the Taliban forces and Iranian border guards, resulting in the Iranian side closing the border.
According to sources, the Taliban forces at the border area arrested an Iranian border guard.
The closure of the Abrisham Bridge, connecting the western province of Nimruz with Iran’s Sistan and Balochistan province, has caused significant issues for Afghan citizens, especially traders. Every day, hundreds of trucks traverse the border, transporting goods between the two nations.
In the wake of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country in 2021, Islamic Republic, like few other regional countries, maintained its diplomatic ties with the Taliban. It kept its embassy open in Kabul and allowed Taliban diplomats to take over the Afghan embassies in Tehran.
Since then, however, there have been numerous disputes along the border between Iran and the Taliban, sometimes leading to armed clashes between the two sides. These clashes have also resulted in border closures at various points.
In May of last year, Iranian border guards and Taliban fighters engaged in a heavy exchange of gunfire, resulting in the deaths of two Iranian border guards and one Taliban soldier, as well as several injuries. In response to the shooting, Iranian authorities closed the Abrisham Bridge for a few days.
Iranian officials have repeatedly blamed the Taliban for its disregard for international laws and border protocols. While clashes have erupted on multiple occasions, they have rarely led to casualties and are routinely blamed on “misunderstanding”.
In the past, tension between the Islamic Republic and the Taliban has also stemmed from Iran’s water rights from the Helmand River. The Iranian side accuses the Taliban of not adhering to the water treaty signed between the two countries in 1973, which commits Afghanistan to ensuring a flow of twenty-two cubic meters of water per second into Iran.
Last year, Iran repeatedly complained that the Taliban had not upheld its obligations under the Helmand Treaty. Iran claims to be receiving less than 4% of its entitled water rights from the river.
The Taliban, however, says that it is committed to the Helmand treaty but cites drought-induced water shortage as the primary problem.
Repeated border clashes of the Taliban with Iran–and Pakistan in many instances–shows the dilemma of a region that can neither fully work with the regime in Kabul nor can they renounce it completely.
