Iranian President Raisi says US defeat in Afghanistan may be chance for new-found peace as Taliban takes over

Newly elected president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, has claimed that the US “defeat” and its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan may represent a chance for war-torn Afghanistan to revive itself and find peace.

Ultraconservative Raisi commented on Monday that “the military defeat and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan should offer an opportunity to restore life, security and lasting peace in that country.”

The president of the Islamic Republic said that “Iran is committed to its neighborly relations with Afghanistan [and is] closely monitoring developments.” Raisi also invited all groups in the war-torn nation to reach a “national consensus in order for the establishment of stability.”

The remarks from Tehran come as Taliban insurgents infiltrated the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday after making rapid territorial gains. Ousted President Ashraf Ghani fled the country for safety.

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Iran, which shares a 900km (550-mile) border with Afghanistan, set up camps in three provincial towns along its frontier on the same day to prepare for an influx of refugees escaping from the Taliban. Hossein Qasemi, an Interior Ministry official, stated that while facilities have been set up temporarily, Tehran expects “those Afghan refugees to return home when the situation improves in Afghanistan.”

According to figures from the international monitoring group Acaps, 780,000 registered Afghans live in Iran, while the number of undocumented refugees could be as high as 2.5 million. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which largely follows the Shi’a denomination, has historically been at ideological odds with the Sunni Taliban in Afghanistan. However, Tehran and the Taliban have been engaging in growing dialogue in recent years, with members of the Afghan government, the militant group, and Iran having met in July to discuss peace in the country post-US occupation.

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