A senior Iranian official says the “complex and serious” situation in Afghanistan and the region requires comprehensive consultations with all parties, expressing hope that the upcoming round of the United Nations-hosted meeting on Afghanistan will bring about security, stability and welfare for the Afghan people.

Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the Iranian president’s special envoy on Afghanistan affairs, made the remarks in a post on X on Sunday, hours before a delegation from Iran left for Qatar to attend the third Doha summit on Afghanistan.

He went on to say that the Iranian delegation would convey Tehran’s concerns about Afghanistan and explain the humanitarian policies of Iran regarding foreign nationals in the country to the officials of the United Nations and the countries participating in the meeting.

The Iranian diplomat further noted he hopes that the upcoming negotiations will lead to the reduction of the suffering of the people of Afghanistan and bring about peace, stability, security, sustainable development, and a government based on people’s will and without foreign interference and domination.

The third round of the UN-convened meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan is scheduled to be held on Sunday and Monday with the participation of representatives of various countries. Two other rounds were held in the Qatari capital, Doha,  earlier.

An Afghan Taliban delegation will also participate in the meeting, marking the first time the Afghan rulers will attend a gathering of international envoys on Afghanistan since UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres started the process in May last year.

The Taliban managed to storm back to power in mid-August 2021 after making sweeping advances across Afghanistan during a messy withdrawal of US-led foreign forces as well as the rapid collapse of the country’s security forces. 

The group announced the formation of a caretaker government in September, but their efforts to stabilize the situation have so far been undermined by international sanctions.

No country has yet recognized the Taliban government and its rule over Afghanistan, although they have been in power for nearly three years.

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