Iran is considering building a concrete wall on its border with Afghanistan to prevent, according to Iranian authorities, terrorists from entering its territory, as well as drug trafficking and the arrival of migrants.
“A study is being carried out on how to physically block the border and the intention is for the blockade to be carried out with a concrete wall,” he said this Wednesday (28) in an interview with the agency ISNA Hasan Kazemi Qomi, special representative for Afghanistan of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Kazemi, also the Iranian ambassador in Kabul, said the measure was taken to prevent attacks by “enemies using terrorist elements” across the border.
The diplomat assured that the measure will bring many benefits to his country, since “border security is the basis of national sovereignty”.
The future wall would also aim to prevent “the entry of illegal immigrants and combat human and drug trafficking”.
According to Kazemi, “initial projects” for the wall have already been developed, although he has not announced dates for the start of its construction.
Iran and Afghanistan share a porous border of almost 950 kilometers, used as one of the main heroin smuggling routes from the Asian country to Europe. Furthermore, more than three million Afghan refugees have resided on Iranian soil for decades.
Iran and Taliban-run Afghanistan have had some friction since 2021. In May last year, for example, they exchanged fire across their borders, in an incident in which three people died and for which they accused each other.
In addition, they also maintain a dispute over Iran's rights to water from the Helmand River, which flows between the two countries. (With EFE Agency)
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