In a move that underscores the Taliban regime’s deepening administrative dysfunction and disregard for its citizens abroad, the Taliban-controlled embassy in Tehran has abruptly suspended all major consular services, leaving thousands of Afghan nationals in Iran stranded without access to critical legal documentation.
Effective Saturday, May 24, the embassy ceased the issuance and renewal of passports as well as the processing of marriage, divorce, and birth certificates, legal guarantees, and non-criminal liability documents. The decision was announced via a terse post on the social media platform X, offering no explanation for the disruption nor any indication of when services might resume.
The embassy has further instructed Afghan citizens not to visit its consular section “until further notice,” a vague directive that has triggered confusion and panic among the Afghan diaspora, many of whom are entirely dependent on these services for maintaining their legal status, securing employment, accessing education, and managing personal affairs.
The sudden suspension is being widely condemned as yet another example of the Taliban’s chronic misgovernance and institutional paralysis. Rights advocates and diaspora leaders have denounced the move as a gross dereliction of duty, accusing the Taliban of abandoning their most vulnerable citizens in a foreign land without cause or contingency.
“This is not just administrative negligence—it is a deliberate act of indifference toward Afghan lives,” said a senior Afghan civil society activist based in Iran. “People are being denied the most basic tools of legal identity and existence. The Taliban have once again proven that they are unfit to serve or represent the Afghan nation, either at home or abroad.”
The embassy’s silence on the reason behind the suspension has fueled speculation about internal disarray, political pressure, or disputes within the Taliban’s foreign operations. Analysts warn that the closure will have far-reaching implications for the nearly four million Afghans residing in Iran, many of whom are already living under precarious legal and economic conditions.
This latest failure by the Taliban to fulfill fundamental state functions reinforces growing concerns over the regime’s inability—or unwillingness—to engage responsibly with the Afghan diaspora. As thousands remain locked out of vital consular services, the humanitarian and legal fallout is expected to intensify, further exposing the regime’s contempt for the very people it claims to govern.
