TEHRAN - Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Wednesday that Iran will not “recognize” any group to seize power by war in Afghanistan.

Shamkhani made the remarks during a meeting with Abdul Ghani Baradar, the head of the Taliban political delegation, who visited Iran on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also said, “Iran wants a stable, secure, and peaceful Afghanistan so that Afghan people of all tribes can live in the light of security.”

In the Wednesday meeting, Shamkhani also pointed to the precedent of the U.S. sinister acts and warmongering in the region and said, “The U.S. is not seeking for peace and security in Afghanistan.”

He added, “The U.S. strategy is to continue conflict and bloodshed among different groups in Afghanistan.”

Shamkhani says, “Taliban must cooperate with the Afghan government in fighting terrorism and any insecurity and the ISIS movements in the country”.“The U.S. is showing off initiating peace talks with the aim of creating a dead-end in peace process in Afghanistan,” the top security official pointed out.

The U.S. wants to accuse Afghan groups of creating insecurity and instability in Afghanistan, Shamkhani remarked.

He asked all Afghan parties to determine Afghanistan’s fate by participating in the peace process.

“Taliban must cooperate with the Afghan government in fighting terrorism and any insecurity and the ISIS movements in the country”.

For his part, Ghani Baradar presented a report on the peace process in Afghanistan and said, “Trump made no commitment to peace agreement to be implemented in Afghanistan.”

He underlined that Afghanistan does not trust the U.S. and will fight terrorism and the U.S. mercenaries.

Stressing the importance of the participation of all Afghan tribes in the political future of Afghanistan, he said, “Taliban meet its commitments to safeguard Afghanistan’s common borders with Iran.”

The Afghan delegation arrived in Tehran on Tuesday morning upon an invitation by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.  Khatibzadeh said in a statement that the visit was “pre-arranged.”

The visit came amid renewed efforts by Iran to increase contacts with all major Afghan players. On Monday, Mohammad-Ebrahim Taherian, the Iranian foreign minister's special envoy for Afghanistan, held a series of talks with several foreign officials including Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar.

Iran has been insisting that security and peace in Afghanistan is highly important for the Islamic Republic.

The decades-long war in Afghanistan has been a heavy burden on Iran. It has been hosting millions of Afghan refugees since the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

Iran has also lost about 4000 troops in the war against drug trafficking originating from Afghanistan.

EE/PA