Why Did Tehran Invite Taliban?

Alwaght- Afghanistan developments entered a new stage with last year's agreement between the Taliban and the US.  And this has led foreign actors, especially regional countries, to mobilize to protect their interests from the possible  aftermath of these developments. Iran, as a regional power and Afghanistan’s neighbor that closely follows the war-torn country’s political developments, for the second time in recent months, on Monday hosted a high-ranking delegation of Taliban officials headed by Mullah Baradar, Taliban's main figure and the chief negotiator in the Doha peace talks. 

Commenting on the agenda of the talks, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said earlier that the two sides would discuss "Tehran-Kabul relations, issues related to Afghan refugees in Iran and the political and security situation in Afghanistan and the region."

The Iran-Taliban ideological and political differences are clear. Also, it is undeniable that Tehran has its own considerations regarding the return of the insurgent group to the power in its neighberhood. But what is making Iran host them in its capital? Moreover, what is the topic of the talks and what influence can they leave on Afghanistan's political developments? 

Iran's interests and security-economic concerns 

sharing 815 kilometers of borders, Iran and Afghanistan influence each other because of their cultural, geographical, historical, and economic bonds. Emergence of the Taliban, the 9/11 attacks, and also the US invasion of Afghanistan made the country of significance in relation to the Iranian national security. Certainly, one of the main points of the discussion with the Taliban delegation is Tehran’s security concerns. 

After two decades of the US-led war in Afghanistan to eliminate the Taliban, what can be seen today is that the Taliban is controlling half of the Central Asian country. This, along with signs of the Taliban's future presence in Afghanistan power structure, underscores Iran's urgent need to safeguard its security interests, especially along its eastern borders. The security of the eastern borders is of great importance to the country due to the presence of terrorist groups that act against the security of Iran in the eastern provinces while hiding in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

On the other hand, Iran has concerns about the presence of ISIS in Afghanistan, which in recent years, after defeats in Syria and Iraq, has made Afghanistan its place of recruitment and activities. 

Drugs are another major concern of Iran in Afghanistan. More than 70 percent of world’s opium is produced in Afghanistan, and despite declaring counter-narcotics as one of NATO's missions, the war has increased the narcotics production in the country. 

On the other hand, insecurity and years of war in Afghanistan have been the reasons for the large presence of Afghan refugees in Iran.

Maintaining economic relations and friendly political cooperation with Afghanistan is another important point for Iran about the future of political equations in the war-ravaged country. Tehran and Kabul have close and friendly relations in various political, economic, social and cultural sectors, and the Iranian government has cooperated with the Afghan government in various fields over the past 19 years, the most important of which is the Herat-Khaf railway project. 

Pushing forward peace process 

Another driver behind inviting Taliban to Tehran is the stalemate in Doha peace initiative between Kabul and the insurgent group and hence the Washington deal with Taliban. 

Tehran has repeatedly stated that it will conduct any negotiations with the Taliban with the knowledge of the Kabul government and will provide details of the negotiations to the government. In recent days, after the new US administration announced that it would review the agreement reached between the Taliban and the President Donald Trump administration to withdraw the American troops from Afghanistan, the second phase of the Afghan government-Taliban talks that resumed on January 6 in the Qatari capital Doha have run into an impasse, while violence is set to rise again. 

The US efforts to impose bilateral agreements with the Taliban on the Afghanistan people and government– while there are unannounced agreements behind the scenes– are also of concern to Washington rivals such as Iran and Russia. 

Therefore, to maintain the negotiation process between the central government and the Taliban, prevent escalating violence, and emphasize the need for the Afghans to distrust US promises and preserve Afghanistan’s gains in its path to democracy can be high on the Iranian agenda regarding the intra-Afghan peace talks.