Taliban vow to safeguard Iran's diplomatic missions

April 19, 2022 - 21:31

TEHRAN- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has stated that Tehran has a good and constructive perspective of Afghanistan.

Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation late on Monday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Taliban governing body. 

“The Islamic Republic has a positive and constructive view about Afghanistan,” Amir Abdollahian said.

During the phone call, Muttaqi vowed to maintain the security of Iranian diplomatic facilities, diplomats, and personnel in Afghanistan. 

After assaults took place against Iran's embassy in Kabul and its consulate general in Herat in western Afghanistan, Muttaqi made the assurance that such incidents would never happen again. 

Muttaqi expressed great regret for the events and said that the Taliban would “completely secure the diplomatic facilities, diplomats and staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran in his country.”

Last week, videos went viral on social media platforms that some mobs started throwing stones at the Iranian embassy in Kabul and the consulate general in Herat, causing damage to both facilities.

The Iranian foreign minister chastised Afghan officials for failing to take the required precautions to safeguard the premises' security, which is the host country's obligation.

The attacks, which occurred amid spurious accusations of widespread maltreatment of Afghan migrants in Iran, left no one injured.

Despite sanctions and a slew of other issues, Iran has been sheltering millions of Afghans for decades.

Since the Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan in mid-August, around 300,000 additional refugees have entered Iran, according to estimates.

Muttaqi also expressed gratitude to the Iranian government and people for their hospitality during tough times, emphasizing Kabul's commitment to expanding relations and working with Tehran.

He promised that Afghanistan will do its best to assuage Tehran's concerns about the safety of its diplomatic missions.

“Millions of Afghan brothers and sisters” residing in Iran over the past 40 years have always been supplied with basic commodities, Amir Abdollahian stated.

The senior Iranian diplomat addressed a surge of “malicious, calculated and false propaganda” on various social media platforms, asserting that it is pushed by “enemies and opponents of good relations between the two neighboring countries of Iran and Afghanistan.”

Amir Abdollahian went on to say that Iran has exchanged delegations for bilateral cooperation, sent humanitarian supplies, and kept its missions active in delivering services to the people of Afghanistan.

On August 15, the Taliban, who previously controlled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, retook power and proclaimed the creation of a caretaker government.

Since the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the U.S. officials have frozen roughly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also halted operations in Afghanistan, withholding funding and $340 million in fresh reserves.

This has had a significant impact on Afghans' life, resulting in a fresh surge of migrants, most of whom are heading to Iran.

Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi stated earlier this month that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating and that the country is now experiencing significant problems.

“Iran has hosted millions of refugees, who have unfortunately received the least international aid in the last 40 years. Iran has dispatched more than 30 shipments of humanitarian aid to Afghan people in recent months. This is just one example of the assistance that Iran has provided to the people of Afghanistan,” Takht Ravanchi underscored.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a neighboring country, stands by the people of Afghanistan and has used its capacities and facilities to overcome the challenges it has faced over the last four decades,” the envoy noted.