Iran FM says efforts underway for release of media photographer held by Taliban
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says he hopes diplomatic efforts will lead to the immediate release of an Iranian media photographer recently taken into custody by the Taliban-run government in Afghanistan.
Mohammad Hossein Velayati legally entered Afghanistan through the air border and stayed in Kabul for 10 days. He works for Iran’s Tasnim news agency and was arrested at the international airport in the Afghan capital shortly before boarding a return flight home on Saturday.
Afghan authorities have not provided any explanation on the circumstances of his arrest.
“Intensive diplomatic and consular efforts are underway to return home Mr. Mohammad Hossein Velayati, the photographer of Tasnim news agency,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a post on X on Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani said on Wednesday that Iran’s diplomatic apparatus was pursuing his release in cooperation with the relevant Afghan authorities.
Iran’s special envoy to Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi-Qomi has said the Islamic Republic’s mission in Kabul was seriously following up on the matter.
The Taliban took over power in Afghanistan in August 2021 following Washington’s “peace talks” with the militant group that eventually led to the hasty withdrawal of US and NATO troops after their 20-year destructive occupation in the name of “war on terror” and “nation building.”
No country has yet recognized the Taliban's rule. Since their takeover, the Taliban have been struggling to contain a deepening economic crisis.
Regional nations say the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan is only possible through a participatory system of governance.
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