Claim of Iran's Support for Taliban "Ridiculous"

The head of the Iranian delegation to the 136th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union dismissed as "surprising and ridiculous" the allegation that the Islamic Republic has links with Taliban and is supporting the militant group.

"Today, the representative of Afghanistan's delegation [to the IPU assembly] raised a baseless claim about Iran supporting Taliban. This allegation is made while Iran is one of the main victims of Taliban," Gholamali Jafarzadeh Imenabadi said in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka on Monday while pointing to the massacre of 11 Iranians, including nine diplomats, in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif by Taliban in 1998.

He noted that Iran was the first country to warn the international community about the adverse consequences of the emergence of the Taliban militant group, Press TV reported. "Iran has paid a heavy material and non-material price due to the crisis in Afghanistan," the legislator said. Taliban militants were removed from power following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, but they have stepped up activities in recent months, attempting to overrun several provinces. Thousands of foreign troops are still in Afghanistan, but apparently maintaining security remains a challenge amid frequent incidents of violence across the country.

Imenabadi noted that the Afghan representative had made the groundless allegation while ignoring the glaring reality of Iran hosting millions of Afghan refugees in over three decades, emphasizing that such moves would neither help Kabul resolve its issue nor serve its interests. He reiterated that Iran was among countries that played an important role in reconstructing and assisting Afghanistan with its development process.

Imenabadi recommended that members of the Afghan delegation avoid making "irrational and destructive" comments and getting swayed by ill-wishers.