The Taliban are advancing and controlling border crossings and reassuring neighboring countries.. Moscow is concerned and will not interfere as long as the fighting is internal and Washington is pressing for a settlement

The Taliban continued to expand its presence in Afghanistan and took control of two crossings with Iran and another with Turkmenistan.

While the movement pledged that the neighboring countries would not be exposed to any threats from Afghanistan, Russia expressed its concern, but stressed that it does not intend to take any measures as long as the military operations are inside Afghan territory and do not go beyond the borders.

For its part, Washington called for increasing international pressure to reach a political settlement to end the conflict.

An Afghan security source announced that Taliban militants had taken control of the "Abu Nasr Farahi" border crossing with Iran.

A source in the Afghan Ministry of Finance, which supervises the crossings, confirmed to Al Jazeera earlier that the Taliban had controlled another border crossing with Iran, the Islam Qala crossing, located in the western province of Herat.

Islam Qala crossing is one of the 4 most important border crossings with Iran, serving about 20 Afghan provinces.

On Friday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced that the movement's fighters had taken control of the important Turghandi border crossing with Turkmenistan.

For his part, the commander of the northern eastern region of the Iranian army, Brigadier General Reza Azarian, said that there is nothing threatening Iran's eastern border with Afghanistan.

He pointed out that the situation in Afghanistan is not appropriate at the security level, but it does not pose a threat to his country, with the spread of Iranian forces along the border areas.

Azrian stressed that the Iranian forces are fully prepared to deal with any threat or movement targeting Iran.

This comes as the Taliban announced that 85% of the Afghan territory is under its control, and indicated that it seeks for all components of the Afghan people to participate in the management of the country.

This came during a press conference held by a delegation from the political bureau of the movement in the Russian capital, Moscow.

The delegation pledged that neighboring countries and what it called friendly countries would not be exposed to any threats from Afghanistan.

The delegation said that its visit to Moscow aims to provide all the information concerning what it called the Islamic Emirate, adding that the Taliban will not allow the expansion of ISIS in Afghanistan, and that the movement will fight it.

The Taliban delegation also confirmed that the movement is conducting negotiations with representatives of Afghan society to determine the general structure of the state and that this work is about to be completed.

In this context, Shihab al-Din Dolawar, a member of the Taliban negotiating delegation, stressed that the movement will not control the capitals of the Afghan states by force, nor will it carry out any attack on administrative centers, government buildings and consulates in all Afghan lands.

He added that the movement is discussing a ceasefire with the government in Kabul and will stop its attacks if the Doha talks succeed.

Russian concern

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his country does not intend to take any measures regarding Afghanistan as long as military operations are taking place within the borders of Afghanistan, expressing Moscow's concern about the possibility of crossing the borders into the territory of neighboring countries after it expanded its control to border points with Tajikistan and Iran.

During a press conference with his Indian counterpart in Moscow, Lavrov called for the implementation of the agreements between the Taliban and Washington, and the launch of the political process as soon as possible.

In the same context, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a press conference that the Taliban in a short time controlled a large part of the border lands and currently controls about two-thirds of the border with Tajikistan.

She explained that Moscow is ready to take "additional measures" in order to "prevent aggression" against its ally Tajikistan, and called on all parties to "avoid transferring tensions outside the country."

The security situation in Afghanistan only argues more for international pressure to have a negotiated political settlement to end this conflict, and give the Afghan people they government they want and they deserve.

The entire world can help by continuing this push.

https://t.co/0D7rhUPHGT

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) July 9, 2021

American pressure

In Washington, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Friday evening to exert international pressure for an agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

And he wrote in a tweet on Twitter that "the security situation in Afghanistan requires strengthening international pressure for a political agreement that ends the conflict," stressing that "the whole world can help by continuing this pressure."

For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a tweet on Twitter that he spoke with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani about Qatar's support for the Afghan peace negotiations and its role in supporting peace and security in the region.

The Qatar News Agency said that Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, received a phone call from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, where they reviewed the developments in Afghanistan.

The Qatari Foreign Minister affirmed the State of Qatar's commitment to providing political support to the peace process in Afghanistan,

and to continuing dialogue among all factions to reach a political solution.

For his part, the US Secretary of State expressed his thanks to the State of Qatar for its role in promoting peace in the region, helping Lebanon and supporting the Afghanistan negotiations.

US Embassy plans

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal said US embassy officials in Afghanistan are developing plans to reduce the number of Afghan, American and foreign contractors as the security situation there deteriorates.

The newspaper indicates that the reduction concerns 4,000 embassy staff, including 1,400 Americans.

The newspaper reported that the review under consideration takes into account the possibility of sending some of these jobs to the United States, and whether other jobs could be reduced or reduced altogether.

Data published by the Long War Journal showed the expansion of the Taliban movement on the ground, and among the sites on which the movement has recently extended its influence are border points and crossings that are vital with both Tajikistan and Iran.

According to the newspaper's data, the expansion of Taliban control in the north is concentrated in provinces such as Badakhshan and Takhar.

It includes vital border crossings with Tajikistan and Iran.

The movement has also expanded its spheres of influence as well in the south, in states such as Helmand and Kandahar, which are the historical heartland of the Taliban.

According to the newspaper, the Afghan government forces no longer control only about 20% of the country, which the government doubts and stresses that the control is not final, and that it continues to send military reinforcements, the latest of which is to the states in the north.

Turkish airport insurance

As the Taliban's progress continued, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed on Friday that his country would secure Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, after the US withdrawal.

Erdogan announced that Ankara and Washington had agreed on "arrangements" for Turkish forces to secure Kabul Airport after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"We have defined with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) the arrangements for the future mission, and what we accept and what we do not accept," he said.

"We raised this issue during NATO meetings, during my meeting with (US President Joe) Biden, and during discussions between our delegations... We will implement this procedure in Afghanistan in the best possible way," he added.

Washington welcomed Ankara's "clear commitment" to playing a "key role" in securing Kabul Airport after a meeting between Biden and Erdogan, on the sidelines of the NATO summit last June in Brussels.

Hamid Karzai airport is the main exit route for Western diplomats and aid workers, and there are fears it could fall into the hands of the Taliban following the withdrawal of foreign forces.