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There is a chilling sense of D&eacute;j&agrave; vu as the Taliban closes in on Herat, Iran&rsquo;s 3rd largest city.</p>
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Iranian diplomats are once again holed up in their consulate in Herat, a situation that triggers bitter memories of a similar incident that took place in 1998, and ended in unforgivable tragedy.</p>
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On August 8 in 1998, eight Iranian diplomats and a correspondent of IRNA were trapped in the consulate building in&nbsp; Mazar-e-Sharif, after the Taliban stormed into the city. They were tragically murdered in the building&mdash;a fact that the Iranians known for their long memories have never forgotten. The embers of the sorrowful incident are still aglow.</p>
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On Sunday,&nbsp; the Iranians have once again bugled that, from their side, there is no closure to the tragedy.</p>
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&quot;August 8 marks one of the most bitter days for the diplomatic arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran,&quot; read an Iran foreign ministry statement released a day earlier.</p>
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It added: &quot;23 years ago, on such a day, Iranian diplomats and an Iranian reporter were martyred at the country&#39;s consulate general in the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, in an act of cowardice and in violation of commitments made to Tehran as well as international regulations and treaties and the human and Islamic common sense.&quot;</p>
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Unsurprisingly, the foreign ministry vowed that it will not rest till all dimensions of the incident are revealed. The Islamic Republic of Iran &quot;pledges to pursue the issue as an obvious demand of the Iranian government and nation until the hidden aspects of the incident come to light,&quot; the statement said. It stressed that Tehran &quot;honours the memory of the martyrs of this incident and, once more, strongly condemns the executed act of terrorism&quot;.</p>
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Analysts say that Iran&#39;s fury is directed at Pakistan as the hand of the Pak-based hard-line Sunni organisation Sipah-e-Shahaba Pakistan (SSP) is suspected in the execution of the murders.</p>
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It is widely acknowledged that the SSP, with links to Pakistan&#39;s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is the mothership of a number of internationally proscribed terror groups, including the ultra-radical lashkar-e-Jahangvi (leJ).</p>
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<strong>Also Read:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/latest-news/how-murder-of-diplomats-in-mazar-e-sharif-years-ago-permanently-scarred-iran-pak-ties-106559.html">How murder of diplomats in Mazar-e-Sharif 23 years ago permanently scarred Iran-Pak ties</a></p>
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But 23 years later, the Iranians are staring at a similar predicament in Herat. The Director General of West Asia at Iran&#39;s Foreign Ministry on Friday said that Iranian diplomats are inside Iran&#39;s consulate general in Herat and the officials are keeping in constant touch with them, IRNA reported.</p>
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&ldquo;The Consul General, diplomats, and personnel of the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran are inside the premises,&rdquo; Rasoul Mousavi wrote in his Twitter account.</p>
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He added that the city&#39;s governing forces have committed to the full security of Iran&rsquo;s consulate, its diplomats, and personnel.</p>
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But given the historical precedent, coupled with the never-again sentiment, it is natural that Tehran would be keeping all options open to prevent the repeat of the incident that took place more than two decades ago.</p>
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