Taliban official describes Daesh as common foe of Afghanistan, Iran
TEHRAN- A Taliban political leader referred to the terrorist group Daesh as Iran’s and Afghanistan’s shared enemy.
The deputy prime minister of the Taliban for political affairs, Mohammed Abdul Kabir, met on Monday with Iran’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, in Kabul.
During the discussion, he expressed condolences to Iran over the terrorist incident that occurred in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3, which claimed the lives of over 90 persons.
Declaring the terrorist group Daesh to be the shared adversary of Iran and Afghanistan, Abdul Kabir asserted the group’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 the building of regional peace and stability.
Kazemi Qomi, for his part, reiterated that Iran will not help Taliban opponents.
He said that 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, Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister characterized relations between Kabul and Tehran as progressing towards growth.
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.