Iran will not recognise Taliban despite 'positive' Tehran meeting

Iran is not ready to recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan, despite a "positive" meeting with leading figures of the movement in Tehran, the foreign ministry said Monday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that despite the cordial talks, Tehran was "not at the point of officially recognising the Taliban", according to reports.

Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian hosted Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday, the foreign affairs minister of the Taliban movement, which currently rules Afghanistan.

Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said: "We hope that the governing body of Afghanistan will move, through its actions, in a direction that will enable it to achieve international recognition." 👇https://t.co/Z6ssU7n6vC

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"The current condition of Afghanistan is a major concern for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the visit of the Afghan delegation was within the framework of these concerns," Khatibzadeh said in a press conference on Monday, according to Al Jazeera English.

The Taliban swept to power last August, following a military takeover of Afghanistan forcing thousands to flee with a government made of members of the movement named in September.

Iran, like much of the world, has not recognised the Taliban government but worked with the new authority on a number of issues.

Talks between Iran and Taliban officials covered political, economic, and refugee issues, according to reports.

Tehran also pledged to send aid to its neighbour, which is under US-led sanctions.

Amirabdollahian slammed the "wrong decisions" of the US during the meeting.

"The efforts of the zealous people of Afghanistan showed that no foreign power can occupy Afghanistan and rule over its people," he added.

The two countries will hold talks soon on water related issues, the report added.

Iran and the previous Taliban government - overthrown by the US in 2000 - had fraught relations due to the killing of Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998 and the treatment by the movement of Afghanistan's Shia minority.

Since the fall of the hardline regime and an Afghan insurgency against the US, relations between Iran and the Taliban have since improved, according to reports.