Era of Iran’s Influence Over Afghanistan Is Finished, Says Former Iranian Official

Mohsen Aminzadeh, the former deputy foreign minister of Iran, said that Iran's opportunities in Afghanistan have been severely damaged.

Aminzadeh told Ham-Mihan Daily that currently Iran's influence in Afghanistan has been impacted highly despite all the cultural ties between the two countries.

Following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Islamic Republic improved its political relations with the group and granted some privileges to the Taliban, including handing over the Afghan embassy in Tehran to the Taliban.

However, after a brief period of good relations, the tensions between Tehran and the Taliban escalated over the water rights issue from Helmand River to a level that the President of Iran issued a warning against the Taliban.

Looking at the relations between Tehran and the Taliban over the past two years, Aminzadeh said that "the era of Iran's influence” in Afghanistan has been over.

On Tuesday, Aminzadeh stressed, "Now the Taliban is the ruling regime in Iran's neighbouring country, and coexistence with any geographical neighbour and observing neighbourly customs in Iran-Afghanistan relations is fundamental and a definite necessity."

According to him, the Islamic Republic is not seeking to overthrow the Taliban government, because "it does not matter who is ruling in Afghanistan and whether they like him or not”.

The former senior foreign policy official of Iran said, "Taliban talks about an Islam, which is not compatible with the culture of Iranians."

Moreover, contrary to the expectations of the Taliban, the Islamic Republic, along with other neighbouring countries, has not recognised the Taliban government.