Brothers Across Borders: The Enduring Bonds Between Afghanistan and Iran

BY Zahar Kohandel*

In the dusty bazaars of Herat and the bustling streets of Mashhad, the verses of Hafez and Rumi echo alike. The same language flows through conversations, the same history pulses beneath the soil, and the same struggle for dignity defines the lives of two neighboring peoples. Afghanistan and Iran, divided by borders, but united by culture, blood, and memory. In a time of deepening crises, this shared heritage is not just a relic of the past. It is a political call to solidarity.

For decades, the relationship between Afghanistan and Iran has been shaped by power struggles, refugee flows, and shifting alliances. Yet beneath the surface of state politics lies something more enduring: a brotherhood. This bond, formed through language, literature, religion, and resistance, has the power to outlast any regime or border dispute. Today, in the face of increasing repression, migration, and regional instability, it is more urgent than ever to remember: Iranians and Afghans are siblings, and they must stand together.

A Complicated Foreign Policy Dance

The political relationship between Iran and Afghanistan has never been simple. During the 1980s, Iran supported various Afghan mujahideen factions against the Soviet occupation. In the 1990s, the rise of the Taliban posed a direct threat to Iranian interests, particularly the Shia Hazara population in Afghanistan. Iran backed the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance and came close to military confrontation after the Taliban murdered Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998.

After 2001, Iran maintained a pragmatic policy, cooperating at times with the U.S. in Afghanistan, while simultaneously ensuring it retained influence among Afghan political elites. Tehran’s approach has always been guided by a combination of ideological, strategic, and security interests. The 2021 Taliban takeover reignited Iran’s anxieties: the new regime in Kabul, dominated by hardline Sunni ideologues, brought back memories of the 1990s. Yet instead of severing ties, Iran has kept diplomatic channels open, hosting Taliban delegations, while also criticizing their human rights violations.

Water disputes over the Helmand River and violent border clashes have intensified tensions in recent years. But even amid provocations, both governments have shown restraint. Why? Because they both know that the future of their people is intertwined. Instability in Afghanistan spills over into Iran, and vice versa. The border may separate them, but their fates remain inseparable.

People Beyond Politics

While politicians shift alliances and close borders, the people have always crossed them, in search of safety, work, or connection. Iran has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for over four decades. During the Soviet invasion, the civil war, the Taliban era, and now the new Taliban regime, Afghans have sought shelter in Iran, often living in difficult conditions but also contributing to Iranian society in countless ways.

Afghans in Iran have worked in construction, agriculture, and factories. They have studied in Iranian schools and universities. Some have become poets, filmmakers, and activists. Others have joined the ranks of the marginalized, facing discrimination, deportation, and statelessness. Yet even under pressure, the Afghan community in Iran has remained resilient. And many ordinary Iranians, despite official rhetoric, have stood in solidarity with their Afghan neighbors.

On the streets, online, and in protest movements, young Iranians and Afghans have raised their voices together. When Mahsa Amini’s death sparked nationwide protests in Iran, Afghan women expressed their support, recognizing in her struggle their own. And when the Taliban banned girls from school and silenced women’s voices, many Iranians spoke out in outrage and empathy.

This is not a coincidence. Both nations are victims of authoritarian rule, patriarchal violence, and international neglect. And both nations carry within them generations of resistance, from the poetry of Forough Farrokhzad to the defiant art of Shamsia Hassani. Their cultural revolutions are shared; their wounds, too.

Shared Culture, Shared Destiny

It is impossible to talk about Afghanistan and Iran as strangers. They are literary twins, heirs of the same Persianate world. From Ferdowsi to Rumi, from Kabul to Shiraz, their intellectual and spiritual traditions are deeply intertwined. Even today, the Persian spoken in Tehran and the Dari spoken in Kabul are mutually intelligible. Their histories have been carved by the same empires, and their futures face the same challenges: environmental collapse, youth disillusionment, and political repression.

In a time when xenophobia is rising and refugee lives are increasingly disposable, it is politically radical to insist on fraternity. Too often, Afghan migrants are scapegoated by Iranian politicians for economic troubles. And too often, nationalist narratives on both sides erase the deep bonds between the peoples.

But solidarity is not weakness , it is strength. It is the only antidote to division. Iran’s working class and Afghanistan’s displaced families have more in common than their leaders admit. When they recognize this, they become a force that can demand change, dignity, and justice, not only within their borders, but across them.

From Memory to Movement

Afghans and Iranians have bled together, prayed together, and dreamed together. Their languages, customs, and stories are woven into a single tapestry. The political storms of the past century have tried to rip them apart, but the threads remain intact.

Now, in 2025, both nations are in pain. But pain can be a teacher and a reminder. We cannot afford to forget who we are to each other. Not just neighbors. Not just allies. But brothers and sisters.

This article is not just a reflection. It is a call. A call to reject the borders of the mind. A call to stand against racism, nationalism, and silence. A call to remember that across every wall and checkpoint, there is a shared humanity waiting to be reclaimed.

Afghans and Iranians are not strangers. They are family. And families, even in times of hardship, do not turn their backs on one another. They rise together.

* Zahar Kohandel M.A. (International Master of Arts in the Middle-Eastern-Studies – Political Science/International Relations)

Member of the Technical Committee International Relations of the Iranian National Unity Movement