Afghanistan

Iran urges Taliban to appoint diplomats according to international norms

TEHRAN — Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Nasir Kanani, has urged the Taliban to appoint diplomats based on international norms, following changes among Afghan consular employees in Mashhad.

According to Iranian media, Kanani emphasized that any changes should comply with the regulations defined in the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Kanani elaborated that during a meeting between the Taliban’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran and the Director General of South Asia of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, it was stressed that “appointing and changing employees in each consular post is the authority of the sending government, but must be based on norms introduced to the receiving government.”

Iranian authorities have communicated the importance of adhering to international standards for appointing diplomats to the Taliban, Kanani told reporters.

“The officials of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs [under the Taliban] are expected to act in accordance with the 1963 Vienna Convention and internationally recognized methods for any changes and transformations in their consular staff,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Fars news agency reported that the mission of Abdul Jaber Ansar, the Taliban’s consul-general in Mashhad, has ended. The Taliban have not yet commented on the matter.