Iranian FM Urges Taliban to Address Water & Border Issues With Practical Steps

During a meeting on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, told the Taliban's Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, that the group should address “unresolved issues, including water issues and borders disputes” with Iran.

Amir Abdollahian expressed hope that the Taliban would take “practical steps” to resolve differences with his country.

However, the Taliban's foreign ministry did not mention the demands of the Iranian side in its statement regarding the meeting. Instead, the group stated that both sides discussed the promotion of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Iran does not recognise the Taliban, and the country's foreign ministry refused to display the Taliban flag at the meeting.

Muttaqi participated in an international meeting on Palestine in Tehran last Saturday. During the trip, he has only met with the Iranian foreign minister and the special representative of Iran. The Taliban's Foreign Ministry has not released any news about Muttaqi's meetings with officials from other participating countries.

Iran has consistently criticised the absence of an inclusive government in the Taliban regime, but the Taliban have not accepted this critique.

It has also criticised the Taliban for not fulfilling Iran's water rights, but the Taliban has postponed addressing the water rights issue citing a decrease in rainfall.