TEHRAN, Iran (Asia Free Press): Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Interim Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), and other Afghan diplomats arrived in Tehran on the invitation to discuss advances in bilateral ties, according to media reports.
The group includes Afghanistan’s acting ministers of economy, commerce, and industry, as well as the deputy chiefs of several economic ministries, reported IRNA.
The Afghan group will meet with Iranian high-level officials to discuss economic cooperation, including banking, border markets, mining, business, and sports.
A preparatory meeting for the visiting delegation was conducted in Storai Palace, MOFA, under Muttaqi’s supervision, before departing for Tehran, where critical topics were discussed and placed in the agenda.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has long stressed the need of maintaining economic connections with Afghanistan in order to serve the Afghan people’s interests.
Iran, on the other hand, does not accept the Taliban-led Afghan government, as Iran Ambassador to Kabul Bahador Aminian informed Afghan media a week ago, adding that the Taliban administration is not inclusive and that Iran will only recognise a national and inclusive government.
In his interview, the ambassador also stated that if Iran recognises the new Afghan administration, China, Russia, Central Asian states, and some Arab countries will follow suit.
So yet, no country has formally recognised the Taliban-led Afghan government, which has faced humanitarian issues since the US government froze its $10 billion assets in mid-August 2021.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh dismissed the recent reports on the future of the Afghan Embassy’s activity, stating that the embassy’s activity, like that of other embassies in Tehran, is governed by the principles and rules defined by the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and that no changes outside the convention are possible.
