On Saturday, May 27, shooting occurred on the border of Iran and Afghanistan, as a result of which servicemen were killed and wounded. There has been an armed conflict between Taliban militants and Iran amid a dispute over water rights.

Writes about it AP.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said the Milak-Afghanistan border crossing, which is the main trade route, was closed until further reports due to the gunfight.

İran ile Taliban arasında şiddetli çatışmalar devam ediyor. pic.twitter.com/i0ESzQX0Zj

— 3. Dünya Savaşı (@ww3mediaa) May 28, 2023

Videos posted online show Iranian troops firing mortars and the Taliban firing American-made machine guns at an Iranian border outpost. Other Taliban fighters were traveling in armored vehicles, probably abandoned by NATO forces.

#Afghanistan / #Iran : #Taliban fighter strikes an Iranian Outpost with a RPG-7 near the Iran-Afghan border pic.twitter.com/0qY0vI4myC

— Partigiano (@Al_iinkishariu) May 28, 2023

One of the Taliban leaders, Abdulhamid Khorasani, warned in a video message that the group would fight against Iranians "with more passion" than against US forces.

"We will soon conquer Iran if Taliban leaders give the green light to jihad," he said.

Why the conflict between the Taliban and Iran has escalated

The clash occurred after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in early May warned the Taliban not to violate Iran's rights to water in the Helmand River. Iran accuses the Taliban of violating a 1973 treaty by allegedly restricting the flow of water from the Helmand River to Iran's eastern regions. The Taliban denied the accusations and opened fire on the Sasol checkpoint.

Taliban obsadil íránskou vojenskou základnu v provincii Nimrúz. https://t.co/fc8kQHvJ96 pic.twitter.com/xv2iUnn37t

— Lukáš Eršil (@lukasersil) May 28, 2023

Helmand flows from the Afghan mountains to the Iranian province of Sistan, where it flows into a lake that dries up regularly. Sistan province is currently experiencing a drought, and Iran accuses the Taliban of building new dams on the river and redirecting water.

The Taliban invaded Afghanistan in August 2021 when U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from the country after 20 years of war. Although Iran does not explicitly recognize the Taliban government, it maintains relations with Afghanistan's new rulers. Acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki met with the Iranian ambassador to Afghanistan on May 27 to discuss water rights in the Helmand River. The IRNA agency confirmed the meeting, saying that "issues between the two countries will be better resolved through dialogue."

Amerika’nın Afganistan'dan çekilmesi sonrası, Taliban’nın Amerikan askerlerinden “ganimet olarak elde ettiği tüm ağır silah ve teçhizatı” İran sınırına taşıyor.

Türkiye’ye kaçak yollardan giren milyonlarca Afganistan / Pakistan / Suriyeli sığınmacılardan sonra, çok yakında... pic.twitter.com/d3eq4dLeyz

— Ateist TV (@Ateist_TV) May 28, 2023

How the conflict between the Taliban and Iran is beneficial for Ukraine

In 2015, Russia began indirect support for Taliban militants, the purpose of which was to oust the United States from the region.

This was written by the military-political observer of the Information Resistance group Oleksandr Kovalenko.

Already in 2016, Russia deployed large-scale financial and military support to the Taliban, sending them weapons through Tajikistan. In particular, for this purpose, joint exercises of Tajikistan and Russia were used.

After military exercises, Russian units near the Afghan border simply left ammunition, weapons and even equipment, which were then freely taken away by the Taliban. In this way, Russia has been providing the Taliban with weapons for several years.

Next, the Kremlin launched a campaign to legitimize the Taliban terrorist group as a political force.

Militants of the Taliban terrorist organization even took the Russian embassy in Kabul under protection in 2021.

However, already on September 22, 2021, the first Taliban supporters who were preparing a series of terrorist attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation were detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, and provocations by the Taliban began on the border of Tajikistan and not only.

According to Kovalenko, it is Iran's involvement in an unexpected conflict and even a war against an enemy like the Taliban that can seriously distract Tehran from its military cooperation with Russia (Iran supplies Russia with drones for strikes on Ukraine - ed.).

"For more than half a year, we have been discussing Iran's retribution, its support for Russia and, in fact, participation in the murder of Ukrainians. And, strange as it may seem, the "help" in the matter of retribution came from where no one expected. Of course, it is too early to talk about the prospects, but still, this story is another proof that Russia does not learn even from their own mistakes. The lack of a professional school of analysis and strategy leads to the fact that for the sake of instant victories, Russia, traditionally, loses on the global arena," the expert concluded.

Recall, Zelensky called specific conditions for negotiations with Russia.

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