By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN (AA) – Iran has arrested 19 Afghan nationals for waving a Taliban flag in Tehran in celebration of the Eid al-Adha festival, the city’s police chief said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, Gen. Hossein Rahimi said the Afghan nationals were taken into police custody following an investigation into the incident that took place on Friday.

He said five of them have been sent to prison, while the other 14 “will be expelled” from the country.

On Friday, a group of Afghan nationals had gathered in Tehran’s Mellat Park with Taliban’s white flag. The pictures of men posing with the flag instantly became viral on social media.

The pictures drew anger and outrage in Afghanistan, with many Afghan government officials and activists, including a senior adviser to Afghan national security head, criticizing it.

Gen. Rahimi said the Afghan nationals in Iran used to gather in Azadi Square, a popular landmark in Tehran, to celebrate Eid al-Adha, which ended on Monday.

This year, however, they gathered in the capital’s Mellat Park due to restrictions imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus outbreak in Iran, he said.

“Unfortunately, some men in the middle of the gathering displayed the Taliban flag,” Rahimi said, adding that the police took “immediate action”.

He said five of them, accused of “flag production, image production and transmission of images”, have been sent to prison and others are set to be deported to Afghanistan.

Taliban have refused to comment on the issue. Interestingly, the incident happened during the 3-day Eid ceasefire announced by the militant group in Afghanistan.

Although Tehran has no formal relations with the insurgent group, talks between the two sides have taken place on many occasions in recent past.

During his recent visit to Kabul, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Araagchi acknowledged that Tehran is in contact with the Taliban “like other countries”, but he rejected reports of Taliban having an office in Iran.

Relations between Kabul and Tehran have been affected after the drowning of a group of Afghans in Harirud River in May. The incident was followed by a shooting attack on a van carrying Afghan nationals in Iran’s central Yazd province.

The two sides have held several rounds of talks at different levels in recent months to discuss these issues and evolve a mechanism to ensure the safety of Afghan refugees in Iran.

There are around three million Afghan nationals, including both documented and undocumented refugees, currently living in Iran.