A Taliban official has apologized after refusing to stand for Iran’s national anthem during the opening of an international Islamic conference in Tehran, attended by Iran’s president.
A video emerged in January showing two employees at a facility in Karaj violently assaulting a child laborer before forcibly dragging him into their vehicle.
The head of the facility and a security guard were detained, Iran's Welfare Organization, a government body said on Thursday.
"A child named Maroof, a resident foreign national, attempted to escape with a serrated knife after being locked outside a small gate while staff were tending to the yard," the organization said in a statement.
"Upon his return to the facility, security personnel sought to retrieve the knife, but the child was beaten during his attempt to flee again," it added in a statement.
Eight children were transferred to another facility, Iran's domestic media reported following the center's closure.
Iran's Welfare Organization hosts orphans and disadvantaged children, many of whom beg and work menial jobs, at centers throughout the country.
The abuse of child laborers in Iran has been a persistent rights issue in recent years as standards of living have dropped and migrant numbers have increased.
The incident followed a similar incident in November 2020, when another online video appeared to show a man coercing two child laborers working as fortune tellers to dance and expose themselves in exchange for money.
Reliable official statistics on the total number of child laborers in Iran remain elusive.
The latest official estimate on the total number of child laborers stood at around three million according to Reza Shafakhah, secretary of the children's rights committee of the human rights working group of the National Union of Bar Associations.
This figure contrasts with an earlier report from late April, in which Mohammadreza Heydarhaei, head of the Office for Social Victims at the Welfare Organization of Iran, cited the presence of 120,000 child laborers across the country.
A 2023 report indicated that 15% of the child population was engaged in labor, with at least 10% of these working children lacking access to education, depriving them of essential learning opportunities.
The primary factor driving the rise in child labor is widely attributed to "household poverty," which compels children to work in order to support their families' financial needs.
The report emphasizes that child labor is both prohibited and criminalized under international and domestic laws, placing a clear obligation on the government to take action to address the issue.
Effective monitoring and prevention of child labor remain difficult, especially in cases involving domestic work, labor in hazardous or unsupervised areas, crime such as drug trafficking, and the sexual exploitation of children.
One of the country's largest independent anti-poverty organizations reported in October 2022 that many minors were recruited to attack protesters during nationwide protests in exchange for basic food supplies.
Members and supporters of Imam Ali's Popular Student Relief Society (IAPSRS), a charity organization, alleged that authorities employed children as part of their efforts to suppress anti-government demonstrations.
For Iran, the most crucial demand can be summed up in one word: money. Both pragmatists like President Masoud Pezeshkian and hardliners like Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei need financial resources to ease Iran’s socio-political crisis.
While the US has shown a willingness to offer financial relief to Tehran in certain instances, it remains hesitant to support an Islamic Republic that could destabilize the region through its proxy networks or direct actions.
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a seasoned Iranian politician and former head of the parliament's Foreign Relations and National Security Committee, has remained one of Tehran's few vocal critics regarding its ties with Moscow. In his latest interview, Falahatpisheh asserted that "there will be no negotiations between Iran and the US during Pezeshkian's upcoming New York visit, despite both countries wanting a new agreement."
In several parts of the interview, Falahatpisheh fiercely criticized what he calls "Russia's treason against Iran," a stance he's emphasized since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He specifically condemned Russia's repeated interference in potential US-Iran agreements, its contentious positions on Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf, and its handling of Iran's interests in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. Falahatpisheh questioned Russia's intentions, asking, "What else does Russia need to do to prove that its primary concern is its own interests, not Iran's?"
In a previous interview, Falahatpisheh charged that "Putin is counting on Iran's irrational policy" of unilateral reliance on Moscow. Elsewhere he has accused Moscow of taking advantage of Iran's isolation while also pushing Tehran further into international isolation. However, he reiterated that Tehran's distrust of Washington is also justified.
The former lawmaker’s frequent criticism of Iran’s relationship with Russia could serve as a safety valve controlled by hardliners to balance their pro-Moscow stance. Alternatively, it might reflect an effort by moderates to highlight Russia's unreliability, encouraging Khamenei to reconsider or adjust his reliance on Moscow. By framing the distrust of America within this context, moderates signal their loyalty to Khamenei, whose foreign policy is anchored in skepticism toward Washington, while attempting to shift focus away from blind trust in Russia.
Falahatpisheh, like many Iranian politicians, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, believes that the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) is effectively "dead," with any remnants likely ending by 2025. However, he emphasized that "the United States still needs a new agreement with Iran." He also warned that Russia will likely go to great lengths to block any US-Iran agreement. Ironically, Iranian hardliners—often described as far-right—continue to back Russia and its stance on Ukraine, despite their shared opposition to the West.
Individuals like Falahatpisheh accuse hardliners of "ignoring the country's national interests" and charge that many of them benefit from the sanctions. However, Iran's continued isolation and its reputation as Russia's accomplice could cost Tehran dearly as it has already ruined the possibility of a rapprochement with Europe. Iranian observer Kourosh Ahmadi says "Iran's current situation with the West offers a win-win situation for Russia."
Pro-Russian hardliners in Iran still have the upper hand in Iran's media landscape. Observers noticed that the state TV interrupted Foreign Minister Araghchi's latest interview as soon as he began discussing Russia's positions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan disputes and the shipment of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia. The state TV anchor immediately said: "That is all we have time for in this program" and closed the show.
Taliban official Azizorrahman Mansoor's refusal to rise during the playing of the Islamic Republic's anthem on Thursday had sparked backlash from Iranian officials.
Since then, Mansoor has apologized through a formal video statement.
"In our homeland, we sit when the song is played, and I have acted according to this custom," Mansoor stated in the video, expressing his remorse.
Following the incident, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassador overseeing the Afghan Embassy. According to reports from Iranian domestic media, the acting head of the Afghan mission underscored his nation's deep respect for the Islamic Republic of Iran, clarifying that the act in question was purely personal and did not reflect the official stance of Afghanistan.
Tehran's special representative for Afghanistan, had also condemned the Taliban official's actions, calling it a "disrespect to diplomatic principles."
"Disrespecting diplomatic principles under the pretext of a Sharia-based prohibition on music has no foundation or validity," Hassan Kazemi Qomi wrote on X.
Mansoor, a member of the Islamist militant group's Ministry of Guidance, Hajj, and Endowments, led the Taliban's delegation to Tehran for the 38th "International Islamic Unity Conference."
A similar incident took place in Peshawar, Pakistan, where Taliban diplomats remained seated during Pakistan’s national anthem at an official ceremony.
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the act, with a spokesperson stating, "We will convey our strong protest to Afghan authorities in Islamabad and Kabul."
The acting Taliban ambassador in Islamabad was summoned and warned that Pakistan would respond firmly to such "offensive behavior."
The Taliban’s Consul General in Peshawar later explained that he remained seated during the anthem due to the inclusion of music, insisting there was "no intent to disrespect or demean Pakistan's national anthem."
The backlash from Iranian politicians included a sharp response from Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a prominent "reformist" and senior aide to former President Mohammad Khatami.
Writing on X, Abtahi stated, "The Taliban's disrespect towards the national anthems of Pakistan and Iran, and their refusal to stand, has ideological roots." He further warned, "When we say that the Taliban's ideology is more dangerous than the thousands of weapons they have, this is what we mean."
Abtahi described the Taliban's rigid mindset, which views music as entirely forbidden, as one that "destroys religion and people's lives wherever it spreads," adding that "geography doesn't matter."
He emphasized that "the majority of Muslims everywhere, including in Iran, do not seek unity with the Taliban." Criticizing the Unity Conference in Tehran, he declared, "The organizers have no right to allow the Taliban, whether in the front or the back rows, to participate in this conference."
