An Iranian official accused the United States of prolonging the war in Afghanistan during a visit by the Taliban to Iran. A Taliban leader also told the Iranian government that the group will continue fighting US allies in the country even as peace talks take place. 

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council made the harsh criticism of US policy. “The US is not after peace and security in Afghanistan. The US strategy is the continuation of war and bloodshed among various Afghan strata,” said Ali Shamkhani, according to the state-run Tasnim News Agency. 

Shamkhani’s comment came during a Taliban delegation visit to Tehran led by Taliban political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. 

Iran has long-standing historic ties to its neighbor Afghanistan. Dari, a form of Persian, is widely spoken in Afghanistan. Some members of Afghanistan’s Shiite Muslim Hazara community fight in Syria in Iran-backed militias. Iran provides support to both the US-backed Afghani government and the Islamist Taliban that fights against the government and the US military.