Taliban Was Never On Iran's List Of Terrorist Groups, Says Former Iranian Official
Rasoul Mousavi, a former Iranian diplomat, has said that the Taliban has never been included in the Islamic Republic's list of terrorist groups.
Rasoul Mousavi, a former Iranian diplomat, has said that the Taliban has never been included in the Islamic Republic's list of terrorist groups.
Mousavi said that Iran had refused to sign the comprehensive strategic cooperation document due to the previous Afghan government's insistence on listing the Taliban as a terrorist group.
In a note, Rasoul Mousavi discussed the upcoming visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Afghanistan and the need to sign a comprehensive strategic cooperation document with the Taliban.
The document was not signed during the previous Afghan government because of Iran's refusal to list the Taliban as a terrorist group, he said.
In the note, published by the IRAF News Agency, Mousavi called Abbas Araghchi's upcoming visit to Afghanistan important and stressed that the Taliban should pay attention to Tehran's opposition to the designation of this group as a terrorist group.
"During the previous Afghan government, long negotiations were underway between Iran and Afghanistan on a document called the Comprehensive Document on Iran-Afghanistan Cooperation, which progressed to the final stage, but was stopped due to a dispute and was not signed," he wrote.
"At that time, the Afghan side insisted that the Taliban be designated as a terrorist group and that the two countries declare their cooperation against the group," Mousavi added, explaining that the Islamic Republic had rejected the request due to the continuation of the Doha talks between former Afghan government officials and the Taliban.
The former assistant to the Iranian foreign minister also said that one of the most important gaps in Iran-Taliban relations is the lack of a comprehensive long-term cooperation agreement.
The comprehensive document on strategic cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan, which was discussed in the fields of economy, culture, security, refugees, and water since 2014, was not finalised until the end of the republic's rule in Afghanistan. There are no details of this document.
