Last week, deadly clashes broke out between Afghan and Iranian guards at their border raising fears of a new conflict.

Both sides have accused each other of initiating the shooting in which at least two Iranian and one Afghan guard were killed. However, they have issued measured statements aimed at de-escalating the situation.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will approve the complete return of Iran to the oil market, when sanctions against its oil industry are lifted, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said in an interview with Iranian agency Shana and the Iran Petroleum magazine.

"Indeed, we welcome the return of Iran’s oil production in the future, when sanctions are lifted. We look forward to that day," he said.

Al Ghais also noted that the oil market and demand for it are growing, adding that Iran is a responsible member of the organization.

A gunfight broke out between Iranian border guards and Taliban fighters along the border between Iran and Afghanistan this weekend. Fighting killed three people in the biggest escalation between the two countries over water. And the Taliban brought out a big gun to help.  

Video posted to social media offered an up-close view of the skirmish, inside an unexpected place: an Humvee kitted out with an M240 machine gun. If that looks familiar it’s because those are some of the pieces of military equipment captured by the Taliban, now put into use for fighting other parties.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen will travel to Central Europe on Sunday in a bid to bolster relations with the allies of the Jewish State in the European Union and seek their support of Israeli policy on Iran.

"The diplomatic visit to Central European countries is strengthening strategic coordination with our friends, allowing Israel to promote our political and economic interests on the continent," Cohen said in a statement.

The Afghanistan Taliban is moving troops, and heavy weaponry to the border with Iran and warns it can capture Tehran within days, if Iran does not stop the provocations.   Oh, and all that heavy weaponry and armor. . . . was the stuff "left" there when the US departed Afghanistan.    HMMMMMMM.

Border Clashes broke out between Iranian Border Guards and the Taliban Afghan Army earlier today, with Major Artillery Exchanges occurring and additional Equipment reported to be en-Route towards the Border Region.

Heavy gunfire between Taliban militants and the Iranian military broke out at a shared border on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of at least two Iranian border guards and more wounded.

The flare-up between Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran comes amid a fierce dispute over water rights, specifically concerning access of drought-stricken Iran to the Helmand River.

Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina visited Tehran for talks with her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Reza Farzin, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The talks focused on strengthening relations between commercial banks from the two heavily sanctioned countries as well as “increasing banking infrastructure cooperation,” Iranian central bank Governor Farzin said.

An Iranian official said on Tuesday that an attack on nuclear facilities would mean a widespread war that Israel would bear responsibility for. Speaking to the Qatari-based Al Jazeera network the official said Israeli threats would not change the course of things.

Iran successfully test-launched a ballistic missile with a potential 2,000-km range on Thursday, state media said, two days after the chief of Israel’s armed forces raised the prospect of “action” against Tehran over its nuclear program.

Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, says its weapons are capable of reaching the bases of arch-foes Israel and the United States in the region.

Whether Israel’s escalating threats of war with Iran over its nuclear program are saber-rattling or something more serious is a mystery even to the CIA, according to a portion of a top-secret intelligence report leaked on the platform Discord earlier this year. The uncertainty about the intentions of one of the U.S.’s closest allies calls into question the basis of the “ironclad” support for Israel publicly espoused by the Biden administration.