Tehran hosted the second meeting of the regional contact group for Afghanistan on Saturday, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA. The gathering included special representatives from Iran, China, Russia, and Pakistan, and took place at the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Institute for Political and International Studies.
In a message to the attendees, Iranian caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani called on the United States to release Afghanistan's frozen assets. Bagheri Kani highlighted that nearly three years have passed since US troops withdrew from Afghanistan, yet the country continues to face significant economic and developmental challenges.
Bagheri Kani noted that while Afghanistan's caretaker government has addressed some issues, the freezing of assets has hindered the country's postwar recovery. He stressed that unfreezing these assets is crucial to aiding Afghanistan's recovery process.
At a press conference following the meeting, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Tehran's ambassador to Kabul and the Iranian president's special envoy on Afghanistan affairs, emphasized the importance of resolving Afghanistan's problems through regional dialogue and cooperation. Qomi stated that combating terrorism and improving humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan require collaboration among neighboring countries.
