Taliban Acts As Threat To Iran, Says Iranian MP

Abolfazl Zohrevand, a member of Iran's parliament, criticised the supporters of a "full relationship with the Taliban", saying that the group acts as a threat to Iran.

The Taliban is plagued by internal divisions, he added, and that the group's officials in Kabul have "little commitment to agreements".

Abolfazl Zohrevand, a member of the Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, said, "Water is a special strategic component in Iran's relations with Afghanistan". He emphasised that the Taliban has continued to build dams with the help of some countries to pressure Iran.

The member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly acknowledged that Iran's milestone in drawing the main components in relations with any country should be strategic components. He noted that Iran has not considered the issue of water as the main strategic component in its relations with the Taliban.

Turkey, Azerbaijan and Qatar are Iran's "contentious" rivals and have helped the Taliban put pressure on Iran on the issue of water management and dam construction in Afghanistan, Abolfazl Zohrevand said. Regarding the need for new agreements on water with the Taliban, the Iranian official said, "The Taliban has not yet been recognised by the international community, and they do not have a proper identity and do not have commitment and adherence to the agreements due to internal differences."

The member of the Islamic Parliament of Iran emphasised that Afghan refugees in Iran can be carefully and consciously examined as an important component in relations with the Taliban. He did not elaborate on how the review would take place, but he is believed to have suggested that the Islamic Republic use Afghan refugees as leverage on the Taliban.

The Iranian parliamentarian called the Taliban a threat to Iran, while the Islamic Republic has always tried to maintain relations with the group during the Taliban's more than three years of control over Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic has handed over Afghanistan's embassies and consulates to Taliban representatives and has had close relations with some Taliban officials during this period.