Taliban FM Describes Iran Visit As Positive, Reportedly Meets Opposition

Taliban's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Sunday that he has held positive talks with Iranian officials during his visit to Iran.

Muttaqi, who arrived in Iran Saturday evening at the head of a high-ranking delegation, said on Sunday that his meetings with Iranian officials were focused on trade, oil, transit and security.

He noted that the Taliban seeks to establish good relations with all the countries in the region, particularly with Afghanistan’s neighbors.

He met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Hassan Kazemi Qami, the Iranian president's special envoy to Afghanistan. Tehran says some agreements were reached on banking cooperation, cross-border markets, mining, and sports during the meetings.

Afghanistan International quoted unnamed sources as saying that during his stay in Tehran, Muttaqi also held meetings with some opposition figures including former Herat governor Mohammad Ismail Khan and Mawlawi Habibullah Hesam, the head of Afghanistan’s Islamic Brotherhood.

It added Muttaqi was also scheduled to meet Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, but representatives of the front said the meeting did not happen, although Massoud had traveled to Tehran from Mashhad on Saturday.

Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman rejected reports about Tehran’s decision to hand over the Afghan embassy in Tehran to the Taliban.