Iran & Taliban Discuss Regional Cooperation, Host Joint Meeting On Afghan Affairs

He urged Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to engage with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other nations linked to supporting terrorism.

Addressing the parliament on Tuesday, Jalazadeh stressed the importance of a more assertive stance from Iran's security and intelligence agencies against terrorism.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran's Parliament, met with Tajik counterpart Rustam Emomali in Tehran to discuss concerns about ISIS's activities in Afghanistan.

Contrastingly, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with Abdul Kabir, the Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, in Kabul, emphasizing cooperation with the Taliban. This meeting was reported by the Taliban to have taken place on Sunday, highlighting Iran's policy of cooperation with the Taliban government, as evidenced by several signed agreements.

Despite not officially recognizing the Taliban government, Iran maintains close relations with the group, having transferred control of the Afghan embassy in Tehran to them.

The recent Kerman explosions, claimed by ISIS, have intensified criticism of Iran's ties with the Taliban.

Zadran shared on a social media platform that the incident resulted after the detonation of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) within a vehicle.

The explosion occurred at approximately 4:00 PM local time in the Alokhil area of the 16th police district in Kabul. Zadran mentioned that the group's security forces were present at the site, and arrested a suspect believed to be connected to the explosion.

As of now, no individual or group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Earlier, Afghanistan International received reports from local sources indicating an explosion within a passenger car in the Qala-e-Zaman Khan area. This marks the second recent explosion in Kabul city.

On Saturday evening, a passenger bus was targeted in an explosion in the Dashte Barchi area in western Kabul. UNAMA reported that at least 25 individuals, mostly from the Hazara community, lost their lives or sustained injuries in the incident.

Ghalibaf attributed the recent explosions in Kerman, Iran, to ISIS's presence in Afghanistan, labeling ISIS Khorasan as a threat to neighboring countries.

During the meeting on Monday, Ghalibaf did not elaborate on who he believes are the "founders of ISIS" in the region. He emphasized the need for extensive cooperation to combat terrorism and trafficking of weapons and narcotics in Afghanistan.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Emomali also described the situation in Afghanistan as worrying for both Iran and Tajikistan. He called for expanded relations between Tajikistan and Iran, stressing the importance of continuous communication and regular exchange of ideas and intelligence between relevant agencies to counter terror and drug trafficking.

Tajik officials have repeatedly warned over the past two years about active terrorist groups in Afghanistan and their attempts to infiltrate other countries.

Emomali also noted that the current situation in Afghanistan negatively impacts various segments of Afghan society, including women and children. He stated that an inclusive government representing all political and ethnic groups should be formed in Afghanistan.

Following the recent explosions in Kerman, Iran's Ministry of Intelligence announced that one of the suicide bombers in the province was a Tajik national.

This report stated that the fund has not provided financial support to activities that benefit the people of Afghanistan.

In this report to Michael T McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, John Sapko, SIGAR inspector general, said, "Although the fund’s unanimous vote requirement could help prevent the fund from engaging in risky activity, there are currently no controls in place that specifically address the issue of Taliban diversion.”

In September 2022, United States issued a license authorising the transfer of USD 3.5 billion of the frozen assets of Afghanistan’s Central Bank to a trust fund in Switzerland for the benefit of the Afghan people, including printing money and maintaining Afghan stability.

The Taliban has persistently called for the transfer of Afghanistan's foreign exchange reserves to the group. Contrarily, Anwar Haq Ahadi, a member of this fund, clarified to Afghanistan International that the trust fund will not directly provide funds to the Taliban. Instead, it will disburse payments to relevant institutions for projects deemed to be "for the benefit of the people”.

The latest SIGAR report was commissioned in response to a request from the chairman of the foreign relations committee of the US House of Representatives, specifically concerning the oversight of the trust fund's management.

McCaul, in a letter to SIGAR in March 2023, requested a review of the management mechanism of the fund. He expressed concern about the possibility of fraud, abuse, and direct and indirect support of the trust fund to the Taliban regime.

SIGAR has raised concerns about the Taliban's involvement in appointing an official responsible for overseeing suspicious transactions. It said that Hidyatullah Badri, who is on the list of the US international terrorists, now appoints the head of "FinTRACA", Da Afghanistan Bank’s financial intelligence unit. This unit is responsible for monitoring and preventing illegal transactions such as money laundering and terrorist financing in the financial and banking system of Afghanistan.

Hidyatullah Badri was the former head of the Taliban’s financial commission, who is on the UN Security Council sanctions list for his role in financing suicide attacks in Kandahar.

The United States has rejected the Taliban's appeal for access to Afghanistan's foreign exchange reserves held in Switzerland and the United States by the Central Bank of Afghanistan. The United States says that the Central Bank of Taliban is not currently recognised as an independent institution from the group and lacks mechanisms to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

Nevertheless, USAID's evaluation suggests that the potential for the trust fund's involvement in activities supervised by the Taliban’s Central Bank should not be overlooked.

A photo published on their social media showed Otunbayeva's face covered, marking the first time the Taliban have censored a UN official's image in their media handouts.

This act aligns with the Taliban's broader restrictions on women's representation in media. Over the past two years, female journalists have been required to cover their bodies and faces, with only their eyes visible, following a decree from the Taliban. Media outlets have also been pressured not to broadcast women's voices.

Since their takeover of Kabul, the Taliban have systematically removed images of women from public spaces, including beauty salons and shops.

In recent months, the Taliban's enforcement of their prescribed hijab on women and girls has intensified, leading to several arrests. The group insists that women's hijab should only reveal their eyes and has threatened to imprison relatives of women who do not comply with this directive.

Human rights organisations have condemned these measures as an effort to erase Afghan women from public life and confine them to their homes.