Iran ‘strongly’ condemns Taliban offensive on Panjshir Valley

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday “strongly” condemned the Taliban’s military offensive against holdout fighters in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley, as the Islamist group claimed it had taken control of the area.

“The news coming from Panjshir is truly worrying,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters. “The assault is strongly condemned.” The Taliban on Monday claimed victory in the mountainous Panjshir area, with a spokesman declaring “our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war”, three weeks after the Islamists captured the capital.

“On the question of Panjshir, I have insisted on the fact that it be resolved by dialogue in the presence of all the Afghan elders,” Khatibzadeh said. “The Taliban must equally respect their obligations in terms of international law, and their commitments,” he added.