Iran's foreign minister meets the Taliban in the first visit to Kabul in 8 years

Senior Taliban officials in Afghanistan say they hope for better relations with Iran after a visit from its foreign minister

Top Taliban officials met Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday to discuss tensions along their shared border, the treatment of Afghan refugees in Iran and water rights.

It was the first visit by an Iranian foreign minister to the Afghan capital since 2017.

Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said Iran was committed to the return of some 3.5 million Afghan refugees and had no intention of interfering in its neighbor’s domestic politics, according to a statement from the Afghan government’s deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat.

He also called for the full implementation of the Helmand River water treaty, which envisions shared water resources, the statement said.

Acting Prime Minister Hassan Akhund asked Iran to treat Afghan refugees with respect and said it was not feasible to manage a large-scale repatriation within a short period. He also said incidents such as the execution of Afghans in Iran provoked public sentiment.

Aragchi also met Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob.

Earlier Sunday, Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Aragchi as saying he hoped for more economic ties and improved relations with Afghanistan, citing some “ups and downs.”

Iran doesn’t formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, which seized power in 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country following two decades of war.

But Tehran maintains political and economic ties with Kabul and has allowed the Taliban to manage Afghanistan’s embassy in Iran’s capital.