DUBAI, 1 February, 2021 (TON): Iran hosted the political leader of the Taliban during the last week, offering Tehran’s help to mediate in the peace talks between the insurgents and the government of Afghanistan.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tehran, and told him that Washington was not a “good mediator” for the conflict, media reported on Sunday.

Iran supports an inclusive Afghan government that would include all ethnic groups and sects, Zarif said.

Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the meetings had taken place “in a good atmosphere.”

“The situations in Afghanistan, Intra-Afghan negotiations, the full implementation of the Doha agreement, and Afghanistan’s & region’s need (for) peace were discussed,” he added.
Meanwhile, U.S. has already accused Iran of providing hidden aids to the Taliban fighters against the U.S. forces.

On the other hand, Zarif met Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tehran and told him that Washington was not a “good mediator” for the conflict.

Last year, the U.S. reached an agreement with the insurgents at the talks in Qatar, of withdrawing the troops from Afghanistan.

Shiite Muslim Iran has been a foe of the hard-line Sunni Muslim Taliban for decades but has been openly meeting with Taliban leaders for the past few years as the United States has started negotiating the exit of its troops from Afghanistan.

However, the media reported that some troops of NATO are expected to stay in the area beyond the deadline, as the Western alliance considers that the withdrawal conditions have not met yet.  
New US President Joe Biden is expected to take a close look at the withdrawal agreement.

Since Iran disliked the Taliban for decades, but now has openly met the group leaders for the past few years as the U.S. has started talking on troop withdrawal.

Recently, it is seen that in order to arrive at a peaceful conclusion, negotiations have been held between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Qatar.

Little progress could be witnessed as the talks resumed after a month's break.