Taliban Confirms Foreign Minister Met Rebel Leader In Tehran

The Taliban has confirmed that acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with opposition figure Ahmad Massoud during his visit to Iran.

Muttaqi saw both the leader of the National Resistance Front and Herat governor Mohammad Ismail Khan while in Tehran, Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s main spokesman and acting deputy information minister, tweeted on Monday.

Mujahid wrote that Muttaqi had assured them that they could “return home without any worries.” Massoud has been widely touted as a leader who might rally military resistance to Afghanistan’s new rulers.

The meeting with Massoud was also confirmed by Bilal Karimi, the Taliban deputy spokesman, who said both men had been urged to go home to live peacefully.

Muttaqi also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Hassan Kazemi Qami, the Iranian president's special Afghan envoy. On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran had “hosted various Afghan groups on various occasions.”

Afghanistan International had quoted unnamed sources saying that Mutaqqi had arrived in Tehran on the invitation of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and would meet opposition figures, including Massoud snd Ismail Khan, who tried to rally anti-Taliban forces in July in Herat.

A photo taken in Kabul airport before his departure showed a Mahan airline plane waiting on the tarmac. Mahan is an IRGC-affiliated company.