Iran vs. Afghanistan

Relations between the two neighboring countries (Iran and Afghanistan) are now at a flash point. Ethnic, political and religious tensions have been exacerbated by the recent killings of at least eight Iranian diplomats by Afghan Taleban fighters. Iran is now assembling 250,000 troops along the Afghan border and threatens military action unless its demands for amends are met.

A United Nations working group on Afghanistan meets in New York on Monday, and Iran's foreign minister and (U.S.) Secretary of State Madeleine Albright may attend. Such talks could help defuse the crisis over Iran's diplomats and ease tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The Taleban, which follows Sunni Muslim precepts and is allied with Pakistan, now rules most of Afghanistan. But the country's ethnic and religious diversity has produced opposition to the Taleban's totalitarian rule. Afghanistan's minority groups include Shiite Moslems, Persian-speakers and ethnic groups akin to those in Iran. Many of these overlapping minorities fear persecution by the Taleban and have supported the resistance militias that Taleban forces are now rolling back.

Iran also supports these militias, while Pakistan backs the Taleban. That explains why Iranian diplomats were stationed in a militia-held provincial town that fell to Taleban forces last month.

It also explains why Iran now includes an end to Pakistani military support for the Taleban in its list of demands.

Ideally, both Iran and Pakistan should stop their meddling in Afghanistan's conflict. The Taleban, for its part, should apologize for the killings of the diplomats and promise a credible criminal investigation of the incident.

-- The New York Times