Iran, Taliban ties tested by closures of Shiite-linked institutions in Kabul

Iran has spent recent years expanding its engagement with the Taliban administration while rejecting armed opposition to their rule, but a new wave of closures targeting Shiite-linked religious, cultural, educational and medical institutions in Kabul is exposing tensions in that relationship.

The latest closures include the Fatima al-Zahra Clinic, the Tebyan Center and the Resalat religious school in western Kabul, according to local sources who spoke to Amu TV. The Taliban have also closed the Afghan Voice Agency, or AVA, which is affiliated with the Tebyan Center.

Some of the institutions are widely viewed as having links to Iran or receiving Iranian support. The Fatima al-Zahra Clinic, for example, was established by an Iranian charitable organization.

The closures come despite Tehran’s continued political and diplomatic engagement with the Taliban.

Hossein Mortazavi, deputy head of mission at the Iranian Embassy in Kabul, said at a gathering in late July that Iran does not support armed resistance against the Taliban administration.

“I say to you as someone directly involved in this matter that at no level in the Islamic Republic has any official or order called for supporting a group or current to resist your Muslim brother,” Mortazavi said.

He contrasted that position with what Tehran defines as resistance elsewhere.

“The resistance in Gaza is dear to us, the resistance in Lebanon is dear to us, and resistance in our war against the Americans is dear to us,” he said.

His remarks reflected a broader Iranian policy of maintaining engagement with the Taliban despite deep religious and ideological differences.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in August that Tehran’s relations with Afghanistan would continue across multiple sectors regardless of whether Iran formally recognizes the Taliban administration. He described recognition as a separate legal and political issue.

That approach is now being tested by the Taliban’s actions against Shiite-linked institutions.

A Kabul resident who asked not to be named because of security concerns told Amu TV that Taliban authorities had shut several centers used by Shiites and Hazaras.

“They closed the Fatima al-Zahra Clinic, they closed the Tebyan Center, and they closed the Resalat seminary, which was a religious center for Shiites and Hazaras in Afghanistan,” the resident said.

Local sources have also reported a broader series of closures and restrictions in western Kabul involving Shiite religious, educational and community institutions. Taliban officials have not publicly explained the latest measures in detail.

Seyed Issa Hosseini Mazari, who is associated with both the Tebyan Center and AVA, is known for his support of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The closures have raised questions about how much influence Tehran can exercise when institutions or figures close to it come under pressure in Afghanistan.

Sardar Mohammad Rahimi, a political analyst, told Amu TV that the relationship between Iran and the Taliban cannot be understood only through sectarian differences.

“In the past, Iran and the Taliban came close to war in the 1990s, and even now you can see that institutions affiliated with or close to Iran are being closed because of their Shiite identity,” Rahimi said.

But he said the two sides also face shared regional and security concerns that have encouraged cooperation.

“Iran needs the Taliban and the geography of Afghanistan under Taliban control more than ever,” he said.

That cooperation has also shaped Tehran’s response to Taliban policies toward women and girls.

Mortazavi, speaking at another event about a month ago, addressed the closure of schools and universities to girls and restrictions on women by focusing on explanations offered by the Taliban.

“It is natural that a newly established government has certain fears,” he said, adding that curriculum changes take time.

His remarks, along with his rejection of armed opposition to the Taliban, point to a policy centered on engagement with the authorities in Kabul rather than support for their opponents.

Shinkai Karokhail, a former Afghan lawmaker, told Amu TV that Iran’s priorities have shifted.

“In the past, Iran saw its interests in the presence and participation of Shiite religious and jihadi leaders in the Afghan state and supported their cultural and educational centers,” she said. “Today the game has changed. Iran sees its national interests in the Taliban’s rule.”

Taliban opponents reject that approach.

Daoud Naji, head of the political committee of the Afghanistan Freedom Front, an armed anti-Taliban front, told Amu TV that resistance to the Taliban is a response to what he described as political repression, restrictions on rights and abuses.

“Freedom of expression no longer exists,” Naji said, accusing the Taliban of arbitrary detentions, targeted killings, summary justice and the seizure of public resources.

The Taliban have rejected similar accusations from opponents and rights groups and say they govern according to Islamic law.

For Tehran, the relationship appears to be increasingly shaped by security calculations, regional interests and the reality of Taliban control in Afghanistan.

But the closure of institutions linked to Iran or the Shiite community raises a harder question that how long Tehran can deepen political ties with the Taliban while groups and institutions seen as close to Iran face growing pressure in Kabul.