The Taliban, the Afghan insurgent group, doesn’t represent all Afghanistan, said the Iranian Foreign Ministry amid the continued Taliban offensive in the country’s northern part and Western part. It added the Taliban is a part of the solution to the conflict. 

“The Taliban is part of Afghanistan, but it won’t be the whole present and future of Afghanistan in the government,” he was quoted as saying by an Iranian news agency Tasnim. “What matters to us is (the formations of) an inclusive government, security, and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.”

Reacting to the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan,  Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesperson of Iran’s Foreign Ministry said they were closely monitoring the security situation and engaged with all stakeholders at the high security and political levels. 

He also added they were monitoring the moves of ISIS in the country. 

He, however, added Iran won’t rush to comment or make any forecast regarding the possible fall of the Kabul government in the country.

“It is necessary to protect the territorial integrity (of Afghanistan) and its achievements of the past two decades,” Khatibzadeh said. “Moreover, authentic intra-Afghan dialogue is the sole sustainable solution. We are prepared to facilitate the talks,” he added. 

Meanwhile, the Taliban has accused the Afghan government of not being serious about the peace talks. 

“Although the two sides had held a number of joint meetings after Eid, the government delegation was not interested in talks and was probably looking forward to [President Ashraf] Ghani and [High Council for National Reconciliation Chairman Abdullah] Abdullah’s visit to the US,” Mohammad Naeem, the spokesperson of the Taliban’s negotiation team, was quoted as saying by Ariana news on Tuesday. 

(SAM)