MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan: Taliban fighters are threatening major oil wells near the northern Afghan city of Sar-e Pul following days of fighting in which dozens of members of the security forces have been killed and wounded, officials and residents said on Friday.
“The security situation in Sar-e Pul province is alarming,” said Zabiullah Amani, the provincial governor’s spokesman.
“We have had promises that reinforcements would be sent to the city but nothing has been done yet,” he said.
About 40 members of the security forces were killed or wounded near Sar-e Pul on Tuesday during hours of fighting that underlined the heavy pressure Afghan government forces are facing even as moves toward peace have intensified.
“The Taliban have been launching major attacks for some time with the aim of securing these oil fields and we’ve set up a special protection force but they don’t have advanced equipment,” Amani said.
The wells in the Angot field, about 11 km east of Sar-e Pul city and Kashkari, 12 km to the south, were developed during the Soviet presence in Afghanistan.
Amani said eight wells were active, with millions of dollars’ worth of military equipment, including armored vehicles stored close by.
“These wells are economically important, not just for the province of Sar-e Pul but for the whole of Afghanistan,” he said.
The capture of the wells would deliver a blow to the government and bolster Taliban finances, adding to revenues from taxation, mining and opium.
An aide to interior minister Amrullah Saleh said additional forces had been sent to the oil fields from neighboring districts and a team from Kabul would be sent in coming days.
“As of now, the area is secure but we cannot deny the threat warning,” he said, adding that companies operating the wells had been alerted.
The fighting comes as another round of talks is expected between US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives to try to work out the basis for peace talks to end the 17-year Afghan war.
With US intentions unclear following reports that President Donald Trump is preparing to withdraw almost half of the estimated 14,000 US troops from Afghanistan, pressure on Afghan forces has been mounting.
Hekmat Haidari, a resident of Sar-e Pul city, said the situation in the province had been deteriorating sharply over recent days as the Taliban have stepped up operations.
“The oil wells in this province are a major source of income for Afghanistan and specially for Sar-e Pul province and the Taliban are trying to capture these wells or to destroy them,” he said.
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Taliban threaten oil fields in northern Afghanistan
Taliban threaten oil fields in northern Afghanistan
- ‘The security situation in Sar-e Pul province is alarming,’ said Zabiullah Amani, the provincial governor’s spokesman
- The capture of the wells would deliver a blow to the government and bolster Taliban finances
Israel says Netanyahu will meet with Trump on Wednesday about Iran talks
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday about the US talks with Iran
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday about American talks with Iran, his office said Saturday, while Iran’s foreign minister threatened US military bases in the region a day after the discussions.
“The prime minister believes that all negotiations must include limiting the ballistic missiles, and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement, referring to Tehran’s support for militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. Trump and Netanyahu last met in December.
There was no immediate White House comment.
The US and the Islamic Republic of Iran held indirect talks on Friday in Oman that appeared to return to the starting point on how to approach discussions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Trump called the talks “very good” and said more were planned for early next week. Washington was represented by Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to reach a deal on its nuclear program after sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships to the region amid Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests that killed thousands.
Gulf Arab nations fear an attack could spark a regional war, with memories fresh of the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June.
For the first time in negotiations with Iran, the US on Friday brought its top military commander in the Middle East to the table. US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the military’s Central Command, then visited the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday with Witkoff and Kushner, the command said in a statement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told journalists Friday that “nuclear talks and the resolution of the main issues must take place in a calm atmosphere, without tension and without threats.” He said that diplomats would return to their capitals, signaling that this round of negotiations was over.
On Saturday, Araghchi told the Al Jazeera satellite news network that if the US attacks Iran, his country doesn’t have the ability to strike the US “and therefore has to attack or retaliate against US bases in the region.”
He said there is “very, very deep distrust” after what happened during the previous talks, when the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites during last year’s Israel-Iran war.
Araghchi also said the “missile issue” and other defense matters are “in no way negotiable, neither now nor at any time in the future.”
Tehran has maintained that these talks will be only on its nuclear program.
However, Al Jazeera reported that diplomats from Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar offered Iran a proposal in which Tehran would halt enrichment for three years, send its highly enriched uranium out of the country and pledge to “not initiate the use of ballistic missiles.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the talks needed to include all those issues.
Israel, a close US ally, believes Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon and wants its program scrapped, though Iran has insisted that its atomic plans are for peaceful purposes. Israel also wants a halt to Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups in the region.
Araghchi, speaking at a forum in Qatar on Saturday, accused Israel of destabilizing the region, saying that it “breaches sovereignties, it assassinates official dignitaries, it conducts terrorist operations, it expands its reach in multiple theaters.” He criticized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and called for “comprehensive and targeted sanctions against Israel, including an immediate arms embargo.”
“The prime minister believes that all negotiations must include limiting the ballistic missiles, and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement, referring to Tehran’s support for militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. Trump and Netanyahu last met in December.
There was no immediate White House comment.
The US and the Islamic Republic of Iran held indirect talks on Friday in Oman that appeared to return to the starting point on how to approach discussions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Trump called the talks “very good” and said more were planned for early next week. Washington was represented by Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to reach a deal on its nuclear program after sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships to the region amid Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests that killed thousands.
Gulf Arab nations fear an attack could spark a regional war, with memories fresh of the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June.
For the first time in negotiations with Iran, the US on Friday brought its top military commander in the Middle East to the table. US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the military’s Central Command, then visited the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday with Witkoff and Kushner, the command said in a statement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told journalists Friday that “nuclear talks and the resolution of the main issues must take place in a calm atmosphere, without tension and without threats.” He said that diplomats would return to their capitals, signaling that this round of negotiations was over.
On Saturday, Araghchi told the Al Jazeera satellite news network that if the US attacks Iran, his country doesn’t have the ability to strike the US “and therefore has to attack or retaliate against US bases in the region.”
He said there is “very, very deep distrust” after what happened during the previous talks, when the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites during last year’s Israel-Iran war.
Araghchi also said the “missile issue” and other defense matters are “in no way negotiable, neither now nor at any time in the future.”
Tehran has maintained that these talks will be only on its nuclear program.
However, Al Jazeera reported that diplomats from Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar offered Iran a proposal in which Tehran would halt enrichment for three years, send its highly enriched uranium out of the country and pledge to “not initiate the use of ballistic missiles.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the talks needed to include all those issues.
Israel, a close US ally, believes Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon and wants its program scrapped, though Iran has insisted that its atomic plans are for peaceful purposes. Israel also wants a halt to Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups in the region.
Araghchi, speaking at a forum in Qatar on Saturday, accused Israel of destabilizing the region, saying that it “breaches sovereignties, it assassinates official dignitaries, it conducts terrorist operations, it expands its reach in multiple theaters.” He criticized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and called for “comprehensive and targeted sanctions against Israel, including an immediate arms embargo.”
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