Massoud Pezzekian: I am ready to travel to Afghanistan to open a new page in relations

Iranian President Masoud Pezzekian has recently claimed that he is ready to travel to Afghanistan to open a new page in relations between the two countries.
The Iranian Embassy in Kabul wrote on its official account on X that Pezzekian made these remarks on Saturday (August 25) at a meeting with the managers of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He emphasized that Iran’s foreign policy priority should be expanding relations with neighboring countries and added: “I am ready to travel to Afghanistan to open a new page in the history of relations between us.”

Afghanistan is currently under the control of the Taliban group, whose government Iran has not officially recognized. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi visited Kabul for the first time at the end of last solar year.

However, it is not clear to what extent Pezzekian’s new statements are serious and based on specific planning.

Massoud Pezzekian made these remarks at a time when the Iranian government’s anti-immigration policies have faced widespread criticism in Afghanistan, even though the Taliban have close ties to Tehran. Iran has stepped up its deportation of Afghan refugees since its recent war with Israel. Tens of thousands of people are entering Afghanistan from the western border every day these days. Some returnees also complain about the behavior of the Iranian police.