RASC News Agency: Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s ambassador and special representative for Afghanistan, stated that developments in Afghanistan could impact neighboring and regional countries. According to the IRNA news agency, Qomi made this statement on Saturday, June 8, at the conclusion of the Regional Contact Group meeting for Afghanistan in Tehran. He added that the Taliban are currently “established” throughout Afghanistan.
Qomi highlighted that neighboring countries, especially Iran, which bears a significant burden regarding Afghanistan, currently host six million Afghan refugees. In response to the third Doha meeting, Qomi noted that Afghanistan’s neighboring countries will participate, although the first and second meetings “yielded little success.” He further mentioned, “In future meetings in Tehran, other parties will be included, emphasizing to other nations that the issue of Afghanistan is not a trans-regional matter.”
He continued, “Afghanistan’s issues have no connection to the U.S. or similar countries, and the interference of trans-regional countries is incompatible with the interests of Afghanistan and the region.” Qomi also clarified in his earlier remarks at the meeting that recommendations to the Taliban do not imply interference in the group’s affairs.
The second Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan, aimed at consulting about the third Doha meeting, was held with the participation of representatives from Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan, without the presence of the Taliban.