Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh confirmed that the Taliban delegation, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has visited Tehran “with coordination made in advance and at the invitation of the Iranian Foreign Ministry”.
During their stay in Tehran, the Taliban representatives would hold meetings with Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan, the spokesperson added.
Khatibzadeh added that the peace process in Afghanistan and other related topics will be discussed in meetings with the Taliban political delegation.
Iran has expressed support for the Taliban’s participation in Afghanistan’s political structure, the process of peace under the leadership and management of Afghans, and the agreements among the participants in the intra-Afghan negotiations.
The intra-Afghan talks started after the US agreed to withdraw12,000 US troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the Taliban’s halting of their attacks on international forces under a deal between the two sides in February 2020.