Mohammad Reza Bahrami, Iran’s director general for South Asia, on Wednesday briefed Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on this week’s regional meeting on Afghanistan held in Tehran that the Taliban did not attend.
The Taliban declined to attend the meeting, which brought together Pakistan and several other regional countries to discuss Afghanistan, including efforts to ease tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban.
According to a statement from Taliban’s foreign ministry, Bahrami also invited Muttaqi to make an official visit to Tehran, saying Iran attached “special importance” to relations with “Afghanistan” and hoped the Taliban administration would play an active role in regional cooperation.
Muttaqi described relations with Iran as positive and explained the Taliban’s position on the Tehran meeting, the statement said.
“Afghanistan has now passed a difficult phase and is moving rapidly toward development,” Muttaqi was quoted as saying. “Afghanistan should no longer be viewed as a ‘problem’. Our foreign policy is based on clear principles, and we support active, cooperative relations with countries in the region.”
One of the key issues discussed at the Tehran meeting, which was attended by Russia, was the recent rise in tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban, according to Iranian officials.
