Iran's foreign ministry has said that its embassy in Afghanistan remains "completely open and operational".

In an interview with the semi-official ISNA news agency, ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh dismissed earlier media reports that only the embassies of Russia, China and Pakistan remain open.

He added that the Iranian consulate in Herat was also “completely operational”.

Iran revealed over the weekend that it had secretly closed three of its five consulates in Afghanistan and moved its diplomats to the embassy in Kabul. Some diplomats have been recalled to Tehran.

A former interpreter for UK forces has told the BBC of his fears for his relatives still in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the capital Kabul.

"Ali", who worked as an interpreter for the UK and was relocated five years ago, spoke of his disbelief at what had happened.

"Whatever we achieved... washed away, just within 24 hours," he said.

You can watch the full interview below.

Image source, Defense One/Handout via Reuters

It's a dramatic image showing just how desperate many in Afghanistan are to flee the country.

Hundreds of Afghans managed to get onto the half-open ramp of the US Air Force C-17 aircraft on Sunday as it left Kabul for Qatar, just hours after the Taliban took over the capital.

Instead of forcing them off, the crew decided to take off, according to US defence news website Defense One. Some 640 people were onboard the aircraft - among the largest numbers ever flown in a C-17.

Images on Monday showed people running to planes as they left the tarmac. The US army says soldiers shot two armed men, and others are reported to have died after falling from the underside of a plane they were clinging to shortly after take-off.

A French military aircraft carrying evacuees from Afghanistan arrived in Abu Dhabi overnight, France's defence minister has said.

Florence Parly said in a tweet that French nationals were on board the flight. The French government is "actively working" to organise the next evacuations, she added.

On Monday there were chaotic scenes at Kabul's international airport as hundreds of Afghans attempted to leave the country.

Flights have since resumed.

Here's a recap of some of the biggest recent developments to bring you up to speed:

• US President Joe Biden has defended the decision to pull out of Afghanistan, saying he would not have passed the war on to a fifth president

• People in Afghanistan have spoken to the BBC of their fear of living under Taliban rule
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged the international community not to abandon the people of Afghanistan
• There were desperate scenes at Kabul airport as residents tried to flee yesterday - multiple people reportedly died, including at least two who fell from the underside of a plane they were clinging to
• Human remains were reportedly also found in the wheel well of one US aircraft
• Former President George W Bush, who led the US to war in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks almost 20 years ago, has said he and his wife have watched "the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan with deep sadness"
• The UK is looking at a "bespoke arrangement" for Afghan refugees, with full details to be set out in due course, the foreign secretary told the BBC

The top US diplomat in Afghanistan has hit out at "false reports" about his whereabouts.

On Sunday, as the Taliban advanced into the capital, the US state department announced that all embassy staff had been evacuated to Hamid Karzai International Airport, which was under US military control.

Despite the scramble, Ambassador Ross Wilson clarified in a tweet that he and embassy staff were still in Kabul "working hard to help [thousands] of US citizens and vulnerable Afghans".

Image source, AFP

The streets are still empty, there's not much traffic.

People are scared and think that things could go wrong at any moment, so they're staying at home.

People are getting supplies from some grocery stores which are open, but mainly the big markets and shopping malls are all closed. In the last couple of days, the price of the dollar has increased and because Afghanistan is an import-based economy, everything is a little bit expensive these days.

There is no restriction to go out and talk to people, and even film them - this is what I did yesterday. I was thinking I would not be allowed to film, to see or talk to people but I was not stopped or asked who I am or why I'm doing it.

The Taliban have taken control of the city's security, even the traffic. They're everywhere, they're on every single square and standing there to make sure they've taken control.

I talked to them and asked them why they are here and what their job is right now. They said they're here to make the city orderly, and they're checking cars, especially those of their colleagues. I asked them why, and they said these cars were used by government officials previously and there could be looters who want to bring us a bad name.

Nobody knows what's going to happen next.

Read more from Malik here.

The UK's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has told the BBC that details will be revealed "in due course" about Britain's "bespoke approach" for Afghan asylum seekers.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said the UK had "one of the proudest" records on asylum.

But he stressed that "the most important thing we can do at source... is try and provide the stability so we don't see these large numbers of migrant flows".

Mr Raab said the situation at Kabul airport had "calmed" and enabled the UK to "ramp up" more flights.

On the Taliban more widely, he said that it was important to test the political commitments made at Doha, and that the international community had to use "every lever... to secure a moderating influence" on Afghanistan.

Image source, Getty Images

Australia will not be able to help all Afghans who have supported Australian soldiers in the country, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.

Australia - part of the US-led coalition - had forces in Afghanistan from 2002 until June this year, and lost 41 soldiers.

It is hoping to evacuate Australian citizens and some Afghans from Kabul if it can do so safely.

But Mr Morrison said “that support won't reach all that it should”, adding: "On-the-ground events have overtaken many efforts - we wish it were different."

Australia has drawn fierce criticism that its rescue mission is too late.

Mr Morrison said it was “a sobering day for everyone” to see the Taliban seize control.

Last year an inquiry found “credible evidence” that Australian elite soldiers had unlawfully killed 39 people during the war.

Shamsia Hassani came to prominence as Afghanistan's first female graffiti artist.

In the days before the fall of Kabul to the militant advances, she posted new artwork reflecting on the future for women under Taliban rule.

One showed a girl holding a candle facing a shadowy armed Taliban fighter.

Another, called Nightmare, shows a woman clutching a piano underneath the the all-encompassing burqa.

The face-covering veil was mandatory for all women under Taliban rule during the 1990s, and those who were seen to be improperly dressed could be whipped. Girls were also prevented from going to school and women were only allowed to leave their homes in the presence of a close male relative.

Although the Taliban have publicly pledged to protect women's rights, many international organisations have voiced concern of what the group's return to power will mean for women and girls in the country.

An Indian aircraft carrying the ambassador and other diplomatic personnel has now landed in India's western state of Gujarat, hours after it took off from Kabul, according to social media reports.

India's MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had earlier said that the Kabul ambassador and his staff would be moved to India "immediately".

Afghanistan's central bank governor under the Ghani government has posted a timeline on Twitter, outlining his final few weeks before the Taliban takeover.

He left the country on Sunday and details the chaos and confusion at the airport. He says his decision came as the currency plumetted to a record low and he was told he would not receive any more dollar shipments.

But he firmly put the blame on the Afghan government for what has unfolded.

"It did not have to end this way. I am disgusted by the lack of any planning by Afghan leadership," he wrote.

A German military plane has taken off from Kabul for Uzbekistan with just seven passengers onboard.

The German defence ministry had earlier said the A400M plane could not land due to the large number of people on the runway - and that it had to make its way to a third country to refuel.

News agency DW said two military transport planes had been sent to pick up German embassy workers and local staff.

According to local paper Bild, the plane was initially supposed to carry 57 embassy staff and 88 other German nationals.

"We only had very little time, and that's why we only took those with us who were actually there now, and because of the chaotic situation [some others] couldn't be at the airport yesterday," said Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer according to a report by news service Tagesschau.

ToloNews, one of Afghanistan's major media outlets, has once again placed women anchors on screen.

Women have been noticeably absent from all major Afghan news channels since the Taliban's takeover of the capital Kabul on Sunday, with photos shared online of Afghanistan's national TV station presented by a man sitting in front of the Taliban flag.

The head of Tolo news, Miraqa Popal posted a tweet showing a female presenter interviewing a Taliban medi team member live in studio.

He also separately posted a photo showing a woman dressed in a hijab attending a morning meeting in the newsroom.

Image source, AFP

Former President George W Bush, who led the US to war in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks almost 20 years ago, has said he and his wife have watched "the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan with deep sadness".

"Our hearts are heavy for both the Afghan people who have suffered so much and for the Americans and Nato allies who have sacrificed so much," he said in a statement released by the George W Bush Presidential Center on Monday.

He said the US had the authority and responsibility to cut red tape for evacuations during major humanitarian crises, noting: "The Afghans now at the greatest risk are the same ones who have been on the forefront of progress inside their nation."

Last month, the former president told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle he believed the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan would be "unbelievably bad" for women and girls.

His recent remarks come in stark contrast to his hopeful comments during a meeting with Afghanistan's then-President Hamid Karzai in 2004, when Mr Bush hailed the "first victory in the war on terror" and pledged "iron-clad commitment to help Afghanistan succeed and prosper".

"The road ahead for Afghanistan is still long and difficult," he said at the time. "Yet, the Afghan people can know that their country will never be abandoned to terrorists and killers."

The Taliban has issued a general amnesty for all government officials, urging them to return to work with "full confidence".

"A general amnesty has been declared for all... so you should start your routine life with full confidence," AFP said, quoting a Taliban statement.

It comes amid a background of fear in Afghanistan, as those that worked for government or Western-backed organisations - those who worked as translators for US troops for example - fear repurcussions.

The Taliban is known for carrying out brutal punishments and have been accused of committing war crimes - something they deny.

Image source, Getty Images

Facebook has confirmed it considers the Taliban a terrorist organisation, and so bans the group and all content supporting it from its platforms.

The firm says it has a dedicated team of Afghan experts to monitor and remove content linked to the group.

Facebook highlighted that the policy applies to all its other platforms including Instagram and WhatsApp.

However, there are reports that the Taliban is using Whatsapp to communicate. Facebook told the BBC that it would take action if it found accounts on the app to be linked to the group.

Rival social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube have also come under scrutiny over how they handle Taliban-related content.

Pakistan's civil and military leadership have adopted a 'wait-and-see' approach on Afghanistan, a report by local news outlet Tribune said.

The paper quoted official sources as saying they would not jump in to recognise the new government in Kabul, adding that they would work together with countries like China, Russia and Iran to determine their future course of action.

News website Dawn said a meeting chaired by Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan also endorsed US President Joe Biden's administration to withdraw from Afghanistan - calling it a "logical conclusion to the conflict".

The National Security Committee - the country's top civil-military body - said Pakistan would "continue to work...with all Afghan stakeholders to facilitate an inclusive political settlement".

Image source, get

Afghanistan's two Paralympic athletes have been stopped from competing at the Tokyo Games due to unrest in the country.

Taekwando athlete Zakia Khudadi - set to be the first woman to represent the country at a Paralympic Games - had been due to arrive in Tokyo with track athlete Hossain Rasouli on 17 August.

The Afghanistan Paralympic Committee's chef de mission Arian Sadiqi said the team had tried to secure flights, but prices began to rise as the Taliban gained control of numerous cities.

"They [athletes] were really excited prior to the situation. They were training wherever they could, in their parks and back gardens," he said.

He called the situation "devastating".

"We were going to make history," said Sadiqi.

Read more here

Image source, Getty Images

Military flights evacuating diplomats and civilians have re-started in Kabul's international airport - just a day after chaotic scenes at the airport.

On Monday, tens of thousands of Afghans were pictured on the tarmacs trying to flee, desperately converging onto planes that were flying out of the capital. Five people were reportedly killed, though it is unclear if they were shot or crushed in a stampede.

Today, however, officials say it is a much quieter scene.

"Many people who were here yesterday have gone home," one Western security official told Reuters.

However, Reuters cites witnesses as saying that occasional shots can still be heard from the direction of the airport. Flights were suspended for most of Monday.

The airport is currnetly the only exit point open to Western forces from Afghanistan.

Image source, Getty Images