According to a confidential document obtained by Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice), a hacktivist group, Tehran had been worried about the consequences of its negotiations with the Taliban before the fall of the former government in August 2021.
The document stated that one of the reasons behind the negotiations with the Taliban was to “determine the position of” Shia groups in Afghanistan.
The document reviewed by Afghanistan International had been issued by the National Security Council of Iran during a meeting of representatives of various Iranian government agencies held on January 9, 2017. In the meeting, the Islamic Republic’s stance was communicated with these agencies after the officials admitted to holding negotiations with the Taliban at Iran’s deputy foreign minister level.
In the document, it had been stated that the Islamic Republic officials were worried about the reaction of the people of Iran and the Shia communities of Afghanistan to Tehran's negotiations with the anti-Shia insurgent group.
Tehran admitted to its negotiations with the Taliban at a senior level after Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the National Security Council of Iran visited Kabul in December 2018. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran announced on December 31, 2018, that a delegation from the Taliban had met Abbas Araghchi, the political deputy of the Iranian Foreign Minister at the time, in Tehran. Photos of the meeting of Javad Zarif, Iran's then foreign minister, with Mullah Baradar and other senior Taliban officials, had also been published.
In the document of the Security Council of Iran, it had been stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the propaganda organisation of the Islamic Republic in Iran and Afghanistan had been asked to "curate a public opinion inside Afghanistan, especially for the Shia communities of the country, particularly the Fatemiyoun group, that negotiating with the Taliban didn’t mean that it was legitimising the group in Afghanistan”.
According to the document, officials of the Islamic Republic present during the meeting had expressed concerns about the presence of non-Shia refugees in Iran and stressed that having not deported these Sunni refugees in 2017 was an "irresponsible act" of the government of Iran.
The document stated that Iranian officials present at the meeting of the National Security Council believed that if the Taliban would take control of Afghanistan and be considered a legitimate group, the relations between the Afghan Sunni refugees in Iran and the Taliban would be dangerous. Therefore, in the meeting, it had been emphasised that “in media policies the Taliban should not be given importance as it would be in the interest and security of the Islamic Republic”.
In this document, it has been stated that in order to sway the public opinion inside Iran in favour of the government, it should be conveyed that the negotiations with the Taliban contribute to the "national interests and security" of the Islamic Republic.
Following the bloody border skirmish with the Taliban and the group's refusal to comply with Iran's demands, many people and domestic media outlets of Iran have criticised the Islamic Republic's policy and optimistic approach towards the Taliban and consider these policies as a failure.
In the document, it has been further emphasised that the Islamic Republic has started negotiations with the Taliban to "support peace and security in Afghanistan". However, before the fall of Kabul, the American and Afghan authorities had accused the Islamic Republic of providing "weapons and military equipment" to the Taliban.
