Iran Deploys Military To Border With Afghanistan

An Iranian armored column reportedly moving toward the Afghan border. April 26, 2022
An Iranian armored column reportedly moving toward the Afghan border. April 26, 2022

Videos circulating on social media show Iran is dispatching military units to the border area with Afghanistan following tensions with Taliban border guards.

A video published by Khabar Online website early on Tuesday shows the 88th Armored Division of Zahedan – part of the ground forces of the Army – is being deployed to the border.

The video shows several Iranian tanks and armored vehicles moving towards the Afghan border.

Some users also shared a video showing the evacuation of a parking lot at Dogharoon (Dowqarun) border customs, with someone saying in the video that area is being evacuated "because they said there was going to be a war tonight."

Some accounts in Afghanistan also posted a video of Iranian military helicopters stationed at the border.

In reaction to the videos, semi-official news agency ISNA said that some of these videos were not related to the Iranian army, adding that "the ground forces are [always] stationed and patrolling the eastern borders around the clock”.

On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh confirmed tensions between Iran and the Taliban on the Dogharoon border, saying that Tehran has informed Kabul about its concerns.

"We hope that the restraint by our border guards on the Iranian-Afghan border has not led to a misunderstanding of the other side... the repetition of these issues is a matter of serious concern," he added.

Following a “dispute” between Iranian and Afghan border guards on Saturday, the border crossing was temporarily shut down.

There have been some incidents at the border since the Taliban seized control in Afghanistan last year.