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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Iran held talks with Afghan Taliban amid peace push

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TEHRAN: Iran has met with the Afghan Taliban, a top Iranian security official said on Wednesday according to the Tasnim news agency, just days after the militants attended reconciliation talks in the UAE.


Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the announcement while on a visit to the Afghan capital Kabul, several Iranian agencies reported.


“The Afghan government has been informed of the communications and talks carried out with the Taliban, and this process will continue,” he said, quoted by Tasnim.


No details on where the talks took place were given by the news agency.


“The Islamic Republic has always been one of the primary pillars of stability in the region and cooperation between the two countries will certainly help in fixing Afghanistan’s security issues of today,” Shamkhani said.


Abas Aslani, a reporter for Tasnim, tweeted that it was the first time talks had been confirmed between Iran and the Taliban.


The announcement follows reconciliation talks last week between the United States and Taliban officials in the UAE.


The renewed diplomatic efforts come as Washington seeks a way out of the 17-year conflict.


An American official said last week that President Donald Trump had decided to pull out “roughly half” of the 14,000 US forces, but the White House has yet to confirm the widely-publicised move.


Complex history


Iran and Afghanistan share a nearly 600-mile border, and have a had a complex relationship in recent years.


Iran worked alongside the United States and Western powers to help drive out the Taliban after the US-led invasion in 2001.


Iran hosted Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday in Tehran. No details were given of the discussions.


Tehran welcomed Trump’s announcement that he was withdrawing all US forces from Syria last week, but has not commented on the reduction in Afghanistan.


Hawks in Washington have criticised Trump’s move, saying it will cede significant influence in the region to Iran.


The Taliban, meanwhile, has made significant territorial gains this year as its fighters inflict record casualties on government forces. — AFP


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