Iran Insists On Its Right To Block Borders With Afghanistan
The commander of the Ground Forces of Iran’s Army has affirmed Tehran's intention to proceed with a plan to build fences to block its borders with Afghanistan.
The commander of the Ground Forces of Iran’s Army has affirmed Tehran's intention to proceed with a plan to build fences to block its borders with Afghanistan.
Kioumars Heydari said Friday, "We intend to block our borders, and no one can object why we erect a fence near their border. This is not unjust to neighboring countries, as it is common practice in all countries."
Heydari’s comment came in reaction to remarks by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who said earlier in the week that Afghanistan is safe and poses no threat to any country, claiming that any blockade at the border should be coordinated with Kabul.
Denouncing Iran’s plans for a border fence, Mujahid told Afghanistan’s TOLOnews that "if such actions were taken when there was no security or there was war... there would be some justification. Now there is no need for such measures."
The rising number of Afghans migrants in Iran has led to controversy among citizens and officials, unsure whether the presence poses a threat or an opportunity for the regime. There are multiple estimates regarding the size of the Afghan diaspora population in Iran, but precise numbers are scarce due to Afghans' reluctance to participate in official counts and registrations.
Heydari emphasized that occupation and invasion of neighboring countries are not part of the Islamic Republic's strategy and approach, stating, “However, ensuring sustainable security is a mission entrusted to the armed forces, and this security is achieved through drones or cameras at times, and at other times through physical presence of security forces and border blockades. Therefore, others cannot dictate to us what we should do at our borders."
Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi confirmed Iran’s plans to block the border areas with Afghanistan earlier in the month, explaining that “It's not a wall, it's a border blockade that is being pursued according to the plan.”
Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of hardline daily Kayhan and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative at the flagship hardline newspaper who made the threat, has no executive position and no responsibility about the elections.
Shariatmadari's threat came two days after Iran's main collective reformist organization, the "Reform Camp of Iran" announced in a statement that reformist parties and groups will not take part in the parliamentary elections in Tehran because the system is biased against Reformists and elections in Iran are not free and fair.
Iran’s ultraconservative election watchdog, the Guardian Council, has banned almost all Reformists from running in the March 1 parliamentary vote. The reformists were effectively banned from taking part in the previous parliamentary election in 2020 and the presidential election in 2021.
The general dissatisfaction among voters about the deteriorating economic and political situation in Iran and a completely uncompetitive election has led to predictions of extremely low turnout on March 1.
However, Shariatmadari also insisted earlier in the week, without presenting any evidence, that turnout in Tehran will be 20 percent higher than what it was in 2020. This comes while all forecasts in Iran put the expected turnout between 8 to 15 percent.
During the past weeks, hardliners in Iran have been doing whatever they could to encourage people to go to the polls. Khamenei's leading religious singer Saeed Haddadian said on state TV that not taking part in elections is a cardinal sin in Islam! Earlier Hossein Shariatmadari had said that voting in elections is tantamount to Jihad! Many clerics who are on the payroll of the state have also made extravagant statements about the urgency to vote and in praise of Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei.
Earlier in this week, former lawmaker Hedayatollah Khademi told the press that after his disqualification for the upcoming elections, he was approached by go-betweens from the Guardian Council who demanded $120,000 to have his qualifications endorsed by the clerics at the election watchdog. Khademi said that various go-betweens wanted 100 billion rials to have his credentials approved by the Guardian Council. He added: "The figures they demanded were almost similar. They wanted 100 billion rials, or 300 standard gold coins, or $120,000."
Meanwhile, it was disclosed by hackers who targeted the parliaments servers that the current ultraconservative lawmakers receive a monthly salary of over 2 billion rials per month, or about $4,000.
That is more than 20 times the salary of an ordinary government employee. Following the hacking, the parliament held closed-door sessions on Wednesday and banned the entry of journalists. Subsequently, the parliament claimed that what the lawmakers actually receive is one tenth of what the hackers have claimed. This comes while the hackers have published the parliament's own documents about the lawmakers' salaries.
In the meantime, reports from Tehran say that while less than two weeks remain before the voting day, even the conservatives who have been allowed to run, have not been able yet to form any alliance to determine who will be on their lists of candidates particularly in the significant constituency of Tehran.
The reports said that a fierce battle is going on over the speakership in the new parliament. What is clear is that the ultraconservative Paydari party is adamant to replace the current Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. If they manage to do so, they will literally take over the entire legislature.
