Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tehran Sunday, less than two months after considering the group a terrorist organization.
Official news agencies said Zarif told the Taliban chief that Iran supports the formation of an all-inclusive government in Afghanistan with the participation of all ethnic and political groups in the war-ravaged country.
“Political decisions cannot be made in a vacuum, and the formation of an all-inclusive government must take place in a participatory process and by taking into account fundamental structures, institutions and laws, such as the constitution,” the FM said in a statement
The Taliban delegation arrived in Tehran on Tuesday. It has also met with Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
The visit comes after Zarif told Afghanistan's private Tolo news broadcaster on December that "the Taliban has committed many terrorist acts,” and “we have not removed them [from our list of] terrorist groups.”
During his meeting with Baradar Sunday, the Iranian FM expressed willingness to facilitate dialogue between the Afghan government, Taliban, and other Afghan groups.
He said Washington was not a “good mediator” for the conflict, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
“The noble people of Afghanistan have been wronged. The war and occupation of Afghanistan have dealt heavy blows to the Afghan people,” Zarif said.
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said on Twitter that the meetings in Tehran had taken place “in a good atmosphere.”
“The situations in Afghanistan, Intra-Afghan negotiations, the full implementation of the Doha agreement and Afghanistan’s & region’s need (for) peace were discussed,” he added.
A second round of intra-Afghan talks was held in Doha early in January but failed to make progress.
