Tehran has hosted a delegation of the Afghan Taliban, the radical Sunni group that has long been a sworn enemy of Iran’s ruling Shiite clerics.
The semi-official Fars agency reported today that the Taliban held talks with Iranian intelligence officials.
Fars says the visitors came from the Taliban’s political office in Qatar. The group recently opened a mission in the
Gulf Arab country to provide a venue where Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s emissaries could hold talks with the Taliban to try to find a peaceful end to the 12-year war in Afghanistan.
Fars gave no other details. Other media didn’t report on the unprecedented visit.
The visit signals Iran could be seeking the role of a regional mediator between the Taliban and Karzai’s government.
———————–(AP)