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Iran hosts Afghan Taliban leader as peace talks stalled

01 February 2021 02:46 (UTC +04:00)

Iran has hosted the political leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban during the past week, offering Tehran’s own help as a mediator in peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government that have become stalled in Qatar, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Shi’ite Muslim Iran has been a foe of the hardline Sunni Muslim Taliban for decades, but has been openly meeting with Taliban leaders for the past few years as the United States has started negotiating the exit of its troops from Afghanistan.

Washington has accused Iran in the past of providing covert aid to Taliban fighters against U.S. forces.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tehran, and told him that Washington was not a “good mediator” for the conflict, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.