Iran FM arrives in Kabul in first visit after Taliban's takeover

KABUL: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Kabul Sunday on the highest-level visit by an Iranian official to the Afghan capital since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.

The one-day visit is part of an effort to bolster relations between the two countries and “pursue mutual interests”, according to foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

Upon his arrival, Araghchi met with his Afghani counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi, and he is scheduled to sit down later with the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Abdul Ghani Baradar, state TV reported.

Discussions will revolve around border security, strengthening political ties and expanding economic relations, it added.

Tensions between Iran and Afghanistan have intensified in recent years over water rights and the construction of dams on the Helmand and Harirud rivers.

Iran shares more than 900 kilometres (560 miles) of border with Afghanistan, and hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world, mostly Afghans who fled their country over two decades of war.

The flow of Afghan immigrants has increased since the Taliban took over in August 2021 after US forces withdrew.

In September, local media in Iran announced the building of a wall along more than 10 kilometres of the eastern border with Afghanistan, the main entry point for immigrants.

Officials said at the time that additional methods to fortify the border including barbed wire and water-filled ditches to counter the “smuggling of fuel and goods, especially drugs”, and to prevent “illegal immigration”.

In December, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said “over six million Afghans have sought refuge in Iran”.

Iran has had an active diplomatic presence in Afghanistan for many years, but it has yet to officially recognise the Taliban government since the takeover.

Several Iranian delegations have visited Afghanistan over the years, including a parliamentary delegation in August 2023 to discuss water rights.