Iran Press/ Asia: Following a stabbing attack in the holy city of Mashhad against the clergymen by an Afghan refugee and some provocations on social media causing Iran to mistreat Afghan refugees, a crowd of protesters on Monday evening gathered outside the Iran consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat.
According to the video circulated on social media, protesters threw rocks and broke the consulate's security cameras after failing to enter the consulate.
No report of injury yet.
Iran reacts to attacks on Consulate in Herat
The Spokesman of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to the attacks on the Iranian Consulate in Herat, Afghanistan.
In reaction to the incident, Saeed Khatibzadeh reminded the Afghanistan government's responsibility to the diplomatic missions and said: "The full security of embassies and diplomatic missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Herat and other cities of Afghanistan must be observed and the necessary guarantees for the safe operation of these missions is necessary."
Khatibzadeh pointed to the deep connections between the Iranian and Afghan nations and Iran's decades-long hosting of Afghan people and warned about the plots to destroy the friendly ties between the two countries.
In recent days following the stabbing attack in Mashhad, some provocative video content circulated on the social media to create a phobia of Iran or Afghanistan, which targets the emotions of the people of the two countries, an issue that demands more vigilance in both nations by people and officials, khatibzadeh stressed.
The Spokesman of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ministry was in constant contact with the ambassador and other missions of Iran to Afghanistan.
On the third day of the holy month of Ramadan, three clerics were targeted in a knife attack in the Holy Prophet courtyard of Imam Reza's holy shrine in Mashhad, northeastern Iran. Two of the clerics were martyred, and one was injured.
The assailant was reported to be a Takfiri element with Afghan nationality.
Images showing torture and ill-treatment of Afghan refugees have gone viral in Afghan cyberspace and continued to circulate.
The incident was followed by extensive reactions from Afghan political figures and scholars.
Iran says the influx of Afghan refugees to Iran cannot continue
In comments at a weekly press conference on Monday morning, Saeed Khatibzadeh pointed to a new wave of Afghan refugees that Iran has begun to absorb in recent months.
The influx of Afghan refugees to Iran cannot continue considering the country's limited capacities, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, calling on the Taliban to exercise responsibility.
He said the Taliban, as the caretaker governing body in Afghanistan, must exercise responsibility in this regard.
According to the latest statistics, nearly three million Afghan refugees and illegal immigrants live in Iran.
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