RASC News Agency: The Iranian newspaper, Jomhuri-e Eslami, has expressed grave concerns over the potential transfer of Afghanistan’s consulate in Zahedan to the Taliban, following the recent handover of the consulate in Mashhad. In a critical article, the newspaper warned that such a move could severely jeopardize Iran’s national security. The newspaper described the transfer of the Mashhad consulate to the Taliban as hasty and warned that handing over the Zahedan consulate would be a perilous gamble with Iran’s security.
Jomhuri-e Eslami highlighted that despite opposition from civil society, the so-called “Taliban Cleansing Team” in Iran facilitated the consulate handover in Mashhad during a power vacuum before Masoud Pezeshkian’s cabinet was formed. The article did not specify who constitutes the “Taliban Cleansing Team.” The newspaper underscored that the background of some Taliban officials, including Amir Khan Muttaqi, who lived in Zahedan and studied at Darul Uloom Mekli, along with the Taliban’s influence in the Baloch regions of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, increases the likelihood of terrorist activities in Zahedan.
In a strongly worded article titled “Taliban and the Policy of Gradual Conquest,” published on Sunday, August 4, Jomhuri-e Eslami criticized the transfer of Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions to the Taliban. In one of the latest developments, on Monday, August 5, Afghanistan’s consulate in Mashhad was handed over to Faizur Rahman Attayi, a Taliban representative. The Iranian government agreed to this controversial appointment on the day of Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration as President, after months of opposition.
In its editorial, Jomhuri-e Eslami accused Taliban diplomats at the Mashhad consulate of kidnapping and terrorism. It cited an incident involving a Taliban diplomat named Dr. Salim, who allegedly forced an Iranian photographer into the consulate and subsequently tortured him. The Iranian government later expelled Dr. Salim as an “undesirable element.” The newspaper also recounted an attempted abduction by Taliban diplomats of Qari Isa, a prominent Taliban opponent, in Mashhad. The editorial claimed that if supporters of the Resistance Front had not intervened, Qari Isa would have met a fate similar to that of Jamal Khashoggi.
Jomhuri-e Eslami warned that transferring the Zahedan consulate to the Taliban would “endanger national security.” Additionally, the newspaper reported that some sources allege Taliban diplomats at the Mashhad consulate have been engaging in propaganda and recruitment among the Sunni citizens of Iran.
