Iran

New clashes erupted Friday between U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and Iran-backed Syrian government forces in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, a war monitor and local sources reported.

The fighting began when Syrian government forces and their allied militias launched mortar attacks against positions belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in the restive province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A resident in the area told VOA that SDF fighters responded by firing at the source of the attacks, using mortars and light weapons. The resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said several SDF fighters sustained light wounds in the clashes, but the Syrian Observatory said there were no confirmed reports of casualties on either side.

Control of Deir el-Zour is divided between the two sides, with the SDF ruling the eastern side of the Euphrates River, while the western side is controlled by Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militias. Iran has been a staunch sponsor of Syrian government forces since the beginning of the country’s conflict in 2011.

Deir el-Zour province was a major stronghold for the Islamic State terror group until 2019, when SDF troops, aided by a U.S.-led global coalition, ended IS’s so-called caliphate in eastern Syria.

In recent weeks, there has been an increase in confrontations between the two sides. In August, a Syrian government paramilitary group called the National Defense Forces carried out an attack on SDF-controlled parts of Deir el-Zour, killing several civilians, according to local news reports. In response, the SDF launched a major attack, killing at least 20 government troops.

The SDF is a Kurdish-led military alliance that has been a major U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamic State terror group. As part of their continued efforts to combat IS remnants, the U.S. has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, including in Deir el-Zour.

Hoshang Hasan, a reporter at the local North Press agency who closely covers events in eastern Syria, said Syrian government forces and allied Iranian militias have made clear that their goal is to destabilize the situation in Deir el-Zour.

“They are determined to keep this region unstable, and to do that they have been attempting continuously to push out the U.S. forces in the area,” he told VOA.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023, bases housing U.S. and coalition forces in eastern Syria have been targeted by Iranian-backed militias dozens of times.

Jonathan Spyer, director of research at the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum, said there was a need for increased U.S. military support to the SDF to maintain the status quo in the region.

“The goal of the Iran-supported militias in maintaining pressure on the U.S. and its allies is clearly to precipitate a U.S. withdrawal,” he told VOA, adding that “such a withdrawal would remove a major barrier to Iranian control and smuggling and movement of forces from Iraq into Syria and Lebanon in the event of an all-out war against Israel.”

“The current uptick in pressure [in eastern Syria] can't be separated from the more general partial mobilization of Iran-supported forces in the region in the context of the Gaza war,” he underscored.

This story originated in VOA’s Kurdish Service.

Pakistan and Iran have sharply criticized diplomats from the de facto Taliban government in neighboring Afghanistan for showing “disrespect” to their national anthems in breach of diplomatic norms.

The controversy arose earlier this week after the Taliban consul general, Mohibullah Shakir, and his colleague remained seated during the playing of the Pakistani national anthem at an official ceremony in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

The move triggered public outrage in Pakistan and demands for Shakir's expulsion.

Islamabad swiftly protested and officially complained to de facto Afghan authorities in Kabul, denouncing their diplomat’s “disrespect” for the Pakistani national anthem as a “reprehensible” act and a breach of “diplomatic norms.”

Shakir’s mission office in Peshawar defended his stance and dismissed allegations of disrespect for the anthem. It said the diplomat remained seated because the anthem had music, which the Taliban consider forbidden in line with their strict interpretation of Islam. “Imagine a religious scholar standing up for music,” a consulate spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Since regaining control of Afghanistan in 2021, the radical Taliban leaders have enforced their strict interpretation of Islamic law, known as Sharia. This enforcement includes banning music, prohibiting girls' education beyond the sixth grade, and barring Afghan women from most workplaces, among other restrictions.

However, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected the Taliban’s explanation on Thursday. At a news conference in Islamabad, Mumtaz Baloch stated that Shakir’s action “hurt the sentiments of the people of Pakistan.” She cautioned that her government reserves the right to take further action in line with international diplomatic norms and practices.

“We expect any individual who enjoys a diplomatic status in Pakistan to respect those norms,” Baloch said. “We have raised this with the Afghan authorities and conveyed our strong displeasure … and we also reject the explanation that the acting Council General has given for his actions.”

Taliban’s conflicting stance

Meanwhile, Iran also has criticized the head of a Taliban delegation, Azizurrahman Mansour, a deputy minister, for not standing during the host country’s anthem at an International Islamic Unity Conference on Thursday in Tehran, where the Iranian president was in attendance.

The Foreign Ministry later summoned Taliban Acting Ambassador Fazal Mohammad Haqqani to seek clarification regarding Mansour disrespecting the national anthem.

Iranian media quoted Haqqani as reaffirming his country’s respect for Iran, claiming that Mansour’s action was “personal” and not reflective of the Afghan government’s official stance.

Mansour later stated in a formal video message that he remained seated during the Iranian national anthem in line with traditions in Afghanistan. “In our country, we sit when the song is played, and I have acted according to this custom. We apologize to the people who were upset.”

The Taliban's explanation, though, failed to ease the outrage in Iran.

“Disrespecting diplomatic norms under the pretext of Sharia-based prohibition of music doesn’t make any sense,” Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan, said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. He wrote in the local language that listening to music should also be prohibited if music is banned.

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a prominent Iranian “reformist and senior aide to former President Mohammad Khatami,” also joined the Iranian political denunciation of the Taliban. The London-based Iran International Persian-language television channel published a translation of Abtahi’s local language X post.

"The Taliban's disrespect toward the national anthems of Pakistan and Iran, and their refusal to stand, has ideological roots." Abtahi further warned, "When we say that the Taliban's ideology is more dangerous than the thousands of weapons they have, this is what we mean.”

Abtahi criticized the conference organizers for inviting the Taliban and stated that "the majority of Muslims everywhere, including in Iran, do not seek unity with the Taliban.”

Iran is a majority Shi’ite Muslim country, and the Taliban represents the majority Sunni Muslim community in Afghanistan.

No country has officially recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government in Kabul, mainly because of their restrictions on women’s access to education and public life at large.

On Thursday, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that his government controlled about 40 Afghan embassies and consulates worldwide, and that its diplomatic relations with the international community were improving.

Many Western governments, including the United States, insist that formal recognition of the Taliban depends on their actions regarding women's rights, education for girls and women, and freedom of movement.