TEHRAN – Representatives of Afghanistan’s neighbors — Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, China, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — and Russia met in Tehran on Sunday to discuss the current and future situation of the war-stricken country, where security and safety have improved since the Taliban first returned to power in 2021, but poverty and hunger have increased and the question of international recognition remains unresolved.

Russia is the only country that currently recognizes the Taliban as Afghanistan’s official rulers, having done so in July. Iran’s embassy remains active in Kabul, and Iranian diplomats are in regular contact with the Taliban. Other neighboring countries maintain varying levels of contact with the Taliban; relations with Pakistan are more strained after cross-border exchanges of fire and Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan soil earlier this year.

The Taliban were invited to the Sunday session but declined to participate. At his weekly press conference before the meeting, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said Tehran respects the Taliban’s decision to skip the session but still hopes consultations can help promote stability in Afghanistan and reduce regional tensions.

“Iran places great importance on the security and stability of its neighborhood and spares no effort to reduce tensions between regional countries and to promote mutual understanding among them,” he said, also stressing the importance of shared borders and the wider repercussions of regional tensions.

“We share roughly 2,000 kilometers of border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and any tension that erupts between these two countries will affect us too. Other countries taking part in this meeting have similar concerns as well.”

A fragile ceasefire is currently in effect between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but there are concerns it could collapse at any moment, as it has several times in recent weeks. Islamabad says the Afghan Taliban are harboring the Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out multiple terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil and has challenged the state’s control in several areas.

Sunday’s session opened with a speech by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said peace and stability in Afghanistan cannot be ensured by “external solutions”. 

“Neighboring countries have a key role in helping Afghanistan achieve sustainable security, development, and regional integration. Afghanistan’s stability and development are essential not only for the country itself but for the entire region,” he explained. 

Araghchi did not elaborate on what those “external” solutions might be, but he may have been referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about wanting to regain control of an airbase in Afghanistan. 

UN reports say Afghanistan is sinking deeper into a socioeconomic crisis every day — a situation largely resulting from a 20-year American occupation that began in 2001 and ended abruptly in 2021. Washington’s invasion aimed to topple the Taliban and install a U.S.-backed administration; the government and institutions the U.S. spent two decades building crumbled within two weeks of the American withdrawal, as the Taliban returned to power and seized cities en route to Kabul with little local resistance.

In his Sunday speech, Araghchi noted that external decisions — including military interventions and two decades of NATO presence — failed to bring lasting peace or sustainable development. “Overly security-focused approaches, disregard for Afghanistan’s social and cultural fabric, and neglect of regional actors contributed to these failures,” he said.

He added that the lesson is clear: no external solution can resolve regional crises. Imported decisions do not guarantee stability; regional, neighbor-driven solutions hold far greater potential, he emphasized.

In his other remarks, Araghchi called for a coordinated regional framework to help integrate Afghanistan into its new reality. “This framework should move us beyond short-term rivalries and prioritize collective security, shared interests and sustainable development,” he said.

An important part of that integration, he said, would be using Afghanistan as a key transit hub for trade, transport and energy linking Central, South and West Asia. “A stable and connected Afghanistan benefits the entire region; the Afghan people should be at the center of all efforts,” the top diplomat stated.

It was not immediately clear whether the meeting produced a new collective agenda, but participants are expected to continue consultations on Afghanistan.