As a result of the clash that took place on the evening of May 27 on the border of Iran and Afghanistan, at least three people were killed, Al Jazeera reports . Iran claimed the death of two of its border guards and the wounding of two civilians, the Taliban admitted the loss of one fighter.
A representative of the Afghan Interior Ministry said that Iranian border guards fired at the territory of the Afghan province of Nimroz, after which they returned fire. “The situation is under control. The Islamic emirate <Afghanistan> does not want to fight with its neighbors," the statement says.
The Iranian state agency IRNA writes that the Taliban opened fire, shelling the Sasoli border checkpoint. The commander of the post was also allegedly killed by the Taliban last week. Iranian authorities closed the major Milak-Zaranj border crossing after a nighttime firefight.
Earlier in May, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi accused the Taliban of restricting the waters of the Helmand River to eastern Iranian regions in violation of the 1973 treaty. The Taliban government denied the accusation.
The Helmand River, which flows through the territory of both countries, is blocked by a dam on the Afghan side, its waters are used to generate electricity and irrigate agricultural land. The dispute over the river's waters has escalated as Iran has been facing severe droughts over the past decade.
