Shamkhani was in Kabul last month for talks with the Taliban “to help curb the security problems in Afghanistan”. He said the Kabul government had known of his talks with the Taliban. Majority-Shi’ite Iran has long had close ties to Shi’ites in neighboring Afghanistan whose militias have fought the Taliban’s Sunni militants. Khamenei slapped down an offer of direct talks made by Trump last year and Iranian officials have said Washington’s crippling sanctions would fail to wreck the economy. “Our nation will never yield to the cruel pressures of the United States.

Source: Egypt Independent January 07, 2019 14:26 UTC