TEHRAN Iran on Saturday closed down its consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, and the Iranian diplomats who were posted there returned home on the same day. The move was taken following a bomb blast in Herat on Friday that killed at least eight people and injured 30 others. An angry mob set fire to the Iranian Consulate building in Herat and five mosques of the Shiite community in the city.

Some reports said that the Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi contacted the Taleban's official in charge of foreign affairs, Maulvi Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil, on Friday night and informed him about the closure of Iran's Consulate and the return of Iranian diplomats home. However, observers believe that the closure of the consulate is not the solution to the problem of Taleban's threat against Iran.

A group of Iranian diplomats and a journalist were killed in Mazar-i-Sharif on August 8, 1998, after the Taleban militia captured Iran's Consulate in the city. No serious step has yet been taken by the Taleban officials to identify and punish those involved in the incident.

According to analysts, if the Iranian Foreign Ministry had not adopted such a weak stance on the issue and had taken serious measures to follow up the case in Mazar-i-Sharif, the incident in Herat would not have happened.

The U.S., which helped the Taleban to seize power in Afghanistan in order to create a source of tension and instability in the region, is now using the militia as a pressure lever against the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, Washington is encouraging the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) to use Afghanistan as a base for its cross-border acts of terrorism against Iran.

When the Taleban emerged in Afghanistan, the U.S. officials pretended that they were opposed to the militia. However, when most European countries condemned the militia for their human rights violations and reactionary attitude and expressed support for the anti-Taleban alliance, some U.S. diplomats were sent to Afghanistan under the cover of human rights envoys in order to help the militia resist the international pressure. This provides further proof that the Taleban have been fostered by the United States.

Unfortunately, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has not been well informed of the philosophy behind the emergence of Taleban and their role in promoting the U.S. hegemonic policies for the region.

The ministry on Friday called on the Taleban and Pakistan to ensure the safety of Iranian nationals in Herat and put the blame for the incident on "the carelessness of the local officials", saying that the enemies of Iran and Afghanistan were behind the incident.

The ministry's move to close the consulate and ask Pakistan and the militia to ensure the safety of Iranian nationals is not a strong response to the mischievous move by the Taleban and their allegation that Iran was involved in this incident.

The Taleban on Saturday blamed Iranian nationals for the bomb blast in Herat. A Taleban's Foreign Ministry statement said, "This terrorist action once again shows that some circles in Iran that resort to the liquidation of their opponents outside Iran are advocates of international terrorism."

Another sign of the U.S. covert support for the Taleban is the militia's announcement that it is ready for a trial in the United States of Osama bin Laden, the Saudi dissident currently living in Afghanistan, who is accused by Washington of involvement in international terrorism.

An Islamabad-based daily, **** The News *** said Osama's trial could also be held in any other country, but it should be conducted only under Islamic Shariah laws. "Both sides -- America and Osama -- will be free to appoint their own lawyers," the report said, based on interviews with senior Taleban officials who were not identified.