Iran news outlet: Why was Taliban’s unofficial envoy invited to Raisi’s Iftar banquet?

An Iranian news outlet has criticized the Raisi administration for inviting the Taliban representative to an Iftar banquet hosted by the President, while Tehran does not still recognize the interim Afghan government and that Kabul has no ambassador or diplomat officially posted to the Islamic Republic.

In an article, Asr-e Iran news portal reacted to photos of the ceremony showing the Taliban envoy next to President Ebrahim Raisi and ambassadors and charges d’affaires of Islamic countries accredited to Iran.

“When the presence of the representative of the Taliban government in Tehran is unofficial, why should he be invited to the official meeting of the president and ambassadors?” it said, criticizing the Iranian officials and the Foreign Ministry for :breaking the diplomatic norms.”

Based on the frameworks of politics, the Taliban representative in Tehran is neither an ambassador nor a diplomat, the article said.

Iran says the interim Taliban rulers must take a set of measures to earn recognition from Tehran, including facilitating the formation of an all-inclusive government, effectively fighting violence and terror, and granting women their social rights.

Iran argues that it allowed the Afghan embassy to operate informally with the goal of keeping the door open to dialog with the neighboring country and help the war-stricken nation tackle its woes.

IFP Editorial Staff

The IFP Editorial Staff is composed of dozens of skilled journalists, news-writers, and analysts whose works are edited and published by experienced editors specialized in Iran News. The editor of each IFP Service is responsible for the report published by the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website, and can be contacted through the ways mentioned in the "IFP Editorial Staff" section.