MONITORING (SW) – A Taliban delegation has visited Iran for talks on Afghanistan following a similar trip to Russia last week, the group's spokesman said on Tuesday.
Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban's Qatar office said the trip to Tehran took place on Sep. 16 and talks were held at the Iranian foreign ministry officials.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) has reported that the Taliban delegation in Moscow was headed by Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, the head of Taliban’s negotiation team in Qatar.
It said the delegation also included Shaheen and Qari Din Muhammad Hanif.
Stanikzai told the Kremlin-funded RT network in an interview aired on September 13 that the Taliban wanted to continue talks with Washington, but if no agreement is reached the militants are ready to fight "for 100 years."
The September 13 meeting in Moscow marks the first international visit by members of the Taliban's Qatar office since Trump declared on September 9 that peace talks with U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad were "dead."
Earlier, Trump cancelled a secret meeting with Taliban negotiators that had been scheduled at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.
ENDS