Tabnak – Shortly after a high-ranking Iranian security official confirmed the existence of communication channels with the Afghan Taliban, a delegation from the group visited Tehran to hold high-level talks with Iranian officials. The move comes as different actors are trying to reach out to Taliban to initiate a national reconciliation in war-torn Afghanistan.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that a delegation of the Afghan Taliban visited Tehran on December 30 and held extensive negotiations with a top Iranian diplomat.
Considering that 50 percent of the Afghan territories are in control of the Taliban and given the insecurity and instability in that country, Iran and the Taliban have held such negotiations, albeit with the knowledge of the Kabul government, Qassemi said.
He said the main purpose of the talks was contribution to dialogue among Afghan groups and the Kabul government in order to move forward with the peace process.
“Iran, as a neighbor and major regional player, was willing to play an important role in establishing stability in Afghanistan after negotiations with the Kabul government,” Qassemi stated.
He explained that the talks with the Taliban would not mean Iran has identical stances with the group, saying it was necessary to start the negotiations to see if it is possible to contribute to dialogue between the Taliban and Kabul.
“Iran will try to facilitate intra-Afghan talks and help the Afghan government so that Afghan groups and Kabul can settle their problems at the negotiating table,” Qassemi said, adding that Iran is not the only country holding talks with the Taliban.
It was just last week that Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Adm. Ali Shamkhani confirmed for the first time that Iran has held talks with the Taliban. Shamkhani made the comments during a Dec. 26 visit to Kabul to meet with Afghan officials to discuss regional and bilateral security issues.
According to Shamkhani, the purpose of the talks between Iran and the Taliban were conducted in order to “solve security problems” and “the entirety of the talks with the Taliban were held with the knowledge of the Afghan government.” He said the “process of the talks would continue.”
Al-Monitor noted in a report at the time that stories of Iran-Taliban relations have circulated in recent years and are filled with accusations and mostly denials. The United States has previously accused Iran of having relations with and even funding the Taliban. In 2016, when a US drone strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor near the Iranian border, there were reports that he was returning from Iran.
In May, Iran’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Mohammad Reza Bahrami confirmed that Iran had “contacts” with the Taliban but denied having relations, saying, “We did not turn these contacts into relations because we did not want to legitimize the Taliban.”
