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Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions: Iran offers to mediate; Russia calls for diplomacy
Overnight Pakistani strikes on major Afghan cities marked the most serious escalation between the neighbours in months
- PUBLISHED: Fri 27 Feb 2026, 10:27 AM
- By:
- Reuters
Iran offered to help "facilitate dialogue" to resolve conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan after Islamabad declared "open war" on the Taliban government and carried out air strikes on Kabul following border clashes.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready to provide any assistance necessary to facilitate dialogue and to enhance understanding and cooperation between the two countries," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
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In another attempt to de-escalate the situation, Russia has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to halt cross-border attacks immediately and resolve their differences through diplomatic means, the RIA news agency reported on Friday, citing foreign ministry.
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Escalating tensions
Overnight, Pakistan had struck targets inside Afghanistan's major cities, according to Pakistani and Taliban officials as cross-border fighting intensified following months of tensions and skirmishes between the two countries.
Security sources in Pakistan said the strikes involved air and ground strikes against Taliban posts, headquarters and ammunition depots in multiple sectors along the border.
Both sides reported heavy losses, issuing sharply differing figures that Reuters could not independently verify. The strikes mark the most serious escalation between the neighbours in months, threatening a fragile ceasefire along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) frontier and deepening a long-running dispute over Islamabad's accusation that Kabul harbours Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, a charge the Taliban deny.
Video shared by Pakistani security officials showed flashes of light in the night from firing along the border and the sound of heavy artillery. Another video showed a building on fire, which the officials said was a Taliban headquarters in Paktia.
