TEHRAN- Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, has expressed the Islamic Republic’s willingness to deepen ties with the neighboring nation.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Iran’s embassy in Kabul said that during a meeting with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government, Kazemi Qomi stated that Iran is prepared to strengthen its cooperation with Kabul and support the Afghan people.

Muttaqi, for his part, praised Iran’s efforts in forming a regional contact group to have a joint meeting of regional special envoys to Afghanistan in Kabul.

In a meeting on Monday between Kazemi Qomi and the deputy prime minister of the Taliban for political affairs, Mohammed Abdul Kabir, the Taliban political leader referred to the terrorist Daesh group as the common enemy of Iran and Afghanistan.

During the discussion, he expressed condolences to Iran over the terrorist incident that occurred in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3. 

The attack, which involved two suicide bombers, claimed the lives of over 90 persons.

Abdul Kabir asserted Daesh’s goal is to kill innocent people and undermine regional stability.

Additionally, he expressed gratitude to Iran for its support of Afghanistan, stating that it encourages deeper ties with all of its neighbors.

The Taliban’s explicit stance is that no danger emanating from Afghanistan should be directed at other countries, he noted, underlining Kabul’s efforts to play a positive role in fostering regional peace and stability.

Kazemi Qomi, for his part, reiterated that Iran will not help Taliban opponents.

Instead, he said, Iran is attempting to include Afghanistan in regional cooperation.

The ambassador also expressed confidence that the people and parties attempting to sow hatred and division between Iran and Afghanistan will fail.

Aside from political issues, the two officials talked about measures to increase economic cooperation between the two Muslim neighbors.

Last month in a meeting with an Iranian media delegation in Kabul, Muttaqi characterized relations between Kabul and Tehran as progressing.

In a meeting with Muttaqi in Tehran, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister of Iran, said that Afghanistan has to take practical steps to address the current issues, such as water sharing and border security, between the two nations.

He pointed out that Tehran and Kabul have established significant ties in a number of areas and expressed hope that the acting Taliban government in Afghanistan would work with Tehran to find practical solutions to some of its current issues.

The senior Iranian diplomat also pointed to a recent meeting in Tehran in favor of Palestine and praised the Afghan delegation, led by Muttaqi, for its active involvement in the gathering.

He also discussed developments in the besieged Gaza Strip and encouraged all Muslim and freedom-seeking countries to assist the Palestinian people in the face of the genocidal atrocities being committed by the occupying Israeli regime.