Taliban may be getting weapons from Russia to fight Iran

By Maya Carlin

A skirmish along the Iranian-Afghanistan border broke out last weekend, resulting in a gun fight that killed three people.

Video footage depicting the debacle circulated widely on social media, which covered the aftermath of a dispute about water. In the footage, Taliban fighters in the Nimroz province of Afghanistan used American-made armored Humvees and a Navistar 7000 transport truck on the border.

The Taliban fighters appear to be operating an M240 machine gun, AK rifles and RPG-7 Launcher with PG-7V rocket from inside the vehicle. According to Al-Jazeera, Tehran claimed that the three killed were Iranian while the Taliban purported that one of the deaths was from its side.

Hostility fueled by water issues

The Helmand River flows from Afghanistan into Iran, making water security a major point of contention between the two countries. Earlier this month, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi urged the Taliban not to restrict the flow of water from this river, since drought impacts both countries. 

While Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister claimed that the Taliban was committed to following the 1973 water treaty between the two countries, the militant group also noted that the drought in the country “should not be overlooked.” Although water security has remained an issue for both nations for decades, the recent uptick in hostilities could indicate future conflict.

Taliban Uses Soviet and American weaponry

Much of the military equipment the Taliban utilizes today was captured from the Soviet Union in the 1980’s or repossessed from the U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan in 2021. The Biden administration’s hasty and chaotic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was riddled with issues.

Most significantly, 13 U.S. service members lost their lives in a suicide bombing that erupted as thousands of civilians were attempted to flee the country prior to the Taliban’s full takeover. The militant group follows a strict and narrow interpretation of Sharia law, which the Taliban uses as justification for carrying out crimes against humanity and rampant discrimination.