Borders with Afghanistan represent peace, friendship: Mousavi

Referring to false reports regarding the incident occurred for some Afghan citizens in the border regions with Iran, he said, “As previously stated by various Iranian officials, we strongly reject reports that a number of Afghan nationals have been forced by Iranian border guards to return to their country by crossing the Harirud.”

He further noted that despite the irrelevance of the issue to Iran and due to the request of Afghan officials, Iranian Foreign Ministry sent an official letter to the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Tehran and voiced Iran’s readiness to cooperate with Afghanistan to investigate the allegations.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers its borders with Afghanistan as the borders of peace and friendship and tries to maintain friendly relations with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan based on mutual respect,” he added

A few days ago, some media outlets claimed that about 57 Afghan immigrants have been detained by the Iranian border guards after entering Iran illegally and then, were forced to jump into the river.

These people had claimed that 23 of them have died in the river but Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations and added that no Afghan immigrant has been detained at the Iranian border, let alone being forced to jump into the river.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has hosted millions of Afghan refugees over the past four decades and these immigrants have been able to work in Iran and enjoy all benefits of living in the country including going to schools and universities.

MNA/ 4919092