Iran and Taliban Officials Discuss Establishment of Joint Consular Commission in Tehran

During a meeting in Tehran, Taliban and Iranian officials discussed the establishment of a joint consular commission for Afghan refugees and issuing Afghan passports to newborn refugees in Iran.

The Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Thursday that Fazl Mohammad Haqqani, head of the Taliban embassy in Tehran, met and spoke to Alireza Mahmoudi, director general of the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Iran.

The discussion about the establishment of a joint consular commission has been held at a time when several members of the Parliament of Iran have expressed their opposition to the continuation of Tehran’s diplomatic relations with the Taliban.

Earlier, Fada Hossein Maleki, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, proposed that the Taliban embassy in Tehran should be closed in order to get the Taliban to respond to the water rights issue. According to Maleki, after the President of Iran warned the Taliban about releasing Iran’s share of water rights from Helmand River, it was expected that some action would be taken by Tehran. However, he said that no steps have been taken against the Taliban.

On Sunday, in an interview with Asr-e Iran media, the Iranian member of parliament emphasised that to pursue the Taliban over the water rights issue, the group’s embassy in Tehran should be closed.

The Islamic Republic of Iran handed over the Afghan embassy in Tehran to the Taliban in early 2023 and Taliban members have been appointed as the caretaker of the embassy in Tehran.