In response to videos released depicting purported mistreatment of Afghans by the Iranian police, Iran’s Embassy in Kabul issued a statement saying that the country’s policy toward immigrants stands on neighborly relations and mutual respect.
“There’s a conspiracy against Iran and Afghanistan’s ties. Information on systematic abuse by the police against Afghan citizens is baseless,” the statement said, ISNA reported.
Iran currently accommodates over five million Afghanis inside its borders, who, according to the embassy’s statement, are generally enjoying the same privileges that Iranian nationals do.
“Despite economic hardships brought about by unjust sanctions,” it said, “Iran has not created obstacles to prevent entry of Afghans and continues to welcome new immigrants.”
Iran was hit by a new wave of Afghan refugees last August when the United States withdrew its army from the country following 20 years of occupation, giving rise to Taliban military forces who took over the neighboring nation in a matter of weeks.
The statement added that border patrols are obligated by law to prevent illegal crossing into Iran.
Smear Campaign
The video clips released online are a targeted attack on the historic ties between the Iranian and Afghani people, designed to entice Iranophobia sentiments, the statement read.
“It is clear that such videos cannot be the basis for a just judgement of how Afghans are treated by Iranians,” it said.
The statement added that other videos are popping out that are trying to provoke fear by showing how Afghani nationals are committing crimes against Iranians in Afghanistan.
“Putting these videos together can reveal the targeted media campaigns that aim to damage relations between the two nations,” it stated.
Over the past few days, the upsetting videos have produced backlash against Iranian officials, prompting the assistant to Iran’s foreign minister, Rasoul Mousavi, to take to twitter to warn against such attempts.
“What we’re seeing on social media … intends to create Iranophobia and sever ties between Iran and Afghanistan,” he wrote.
Mousavi noted that this is not the first try, by a third country, to disrupt relations. He did not specify the country.
All Iranian missions in Afghanistan have resumed operations since Taliban took over and offer services for legal immigration to Iran all week except for the weekend.
Iran has maintained that it supports an all-inclusive government in Kabul that represents all ethnicities and preservers the rights of all Afghani people.
