KABUL – The Taliban discussed Afghanistan’s “post-occupation situation”with Iran in their latest meeting, the group said Tuesday, as Tehran makesa more concerted and open push for peace ahead of a possible US drawdown.
The remarks come after Iran confirmed Monday that the Taliban had visitedTehran for a second round of talks in just a few days that are aimed atending the 17-year conflict.
The Taliban delegation discussed with Iran “the post-occupation situation,restoration of peace and security in Afghanistan and the region”, themilitants said in a statement posted on social media and emailed tojournalists.
It signals a growing confidence among the Taliban for US troops to pull outof Afghanistan, after US officials last month told various media outletsthat President Donald Trump had decided to slash the number of boots on theground.
There have been reports in the past of talks between Iran and the Taliban,but they have typically been denied by Tehran.
Tehran’s peace push will be viewed with concern by hawks in Washington, whofear that Trump’s planned withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistanwill cede regional influence to Iran.
The Taliban also met with the United States, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia inthe United Arab Emirates earlier in December as part of a flurry ofdiplomatic efforts to end the war.
But the Taliban refused to meet a delegation from Afghanistan. The groupsaid Saturday its representatives would not meet “with those of the Kabuladministration” at the next meeting expected to be held in Saudi Arabialater this month.
Read Top Stories
Iran’s deputy foreign ministry Abbas Araghchi will travel to Afghanistan inthe next two weeks, the foreign ministry said, without giving furtherdetails.
Iran and Afghanistan share a nearly 600-mile border, and have had a complexrelationship in recent years.
Tehran has long supported its co-religionists in Afghanistan, the ShiaHazara minority, who were violently persecuted by the Taliban during itsrule in the 1990s.
Iran worked alongside the United States and Western powers to help driveout the Taliban after the US-led invasion in 2001.
But there have been allegations, from Western and Afghan sources, thatIran’s Revolutionary Guards have in recent years established ties with theTaliban aimed at driving out US forces from Afghanistan. – APP/AFP
