Iran Hasn't Recognized Afghanistan's Government Under The Taliban, Here's Tehran's Explanation

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh. (Twitter/@IRIMFA_EN)

JAKARTA - Iran has not yet reached the point of recognizing the Afghan government under the Taliban, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.

"Today, we are basically not at the point of recognizing the Taliban," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference, citing The Times of Israel from AFP Jan. 4

"We hope that Afghanistan's governing body will move, through its actions, in a direction that will enable it to achieve international recognition," he hoped.

"Iran and neighboring Afghanistan insist primarily on the formation of an inclusive government that reflects the ethnic and demographic diversity of the country."

Shiite-majority Iran, which shares a 900-kilometre (550-mile) border with Afghanistan, did not recognize the power of the Sunni movement during its 1996-2001 rule.

Already host to millions of Afghans and fearing a new wave, Tehran has been trying to sketch rapprochement with the Taliban since they seized Kabul amid a US withdrawal last August.

It is known that the Taliban have formed an all-male cabinet made up entirely of members of the group. And, almost exclusively of a Pashtun ethnic background.

These conditions further limited women's rights to work and study, sparking widespread international criticism.