A week after taking power, the Taliban managed to get Iran to resume selling fuel to Afghanistan

Iran resumption of fuel exports to Afghanistan a few days ago following a request from the new Taliban government, which feels able to more openly buy oil from the Islamic Republic after US troops leave their landshe told the agency Reuters an Iranian official.

Sunni Muslim extremist group took power in Afghanistan last week, taking advantage of the withdrawal of troops from the United States and its allies after a 20-year war in the country.

Gasoline prices in Afghanistan hit $ 900 per tonne, as many Afghans leave cities for fear of retaliation and a return to the harsh version of Islamic law the Taliban imposed when they were in power two decades ago.

To counter the rise in prices, the Taliban called on Iran to keep the borders open to trade.

“Message from the Taliban in Iran saying “Can continue with exports of petroleum products”“, said to Reuters Hamid Hosseini, Board member and spokesperson for the Union of Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals Exporters of Iran.

As a result, the Customs Administration of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is part of the Government, lifted the ban on fuel exports to Afghanistan that had been in effect since August 6 due to Tehran’s concern for the security of trade in the country. These fears were allayed by the attitude of the Taliban, Hosseini said.

The official also cited the Taliban’s decision to cut tariffs on fuel imports from Iran and other neighboring countries and shared with Reuters an official document issued by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, name by which the Taliban call themselves.

The document specifies a 70% discount on customs duties on imports of gasoline, diesel and LPG from neighboring countries to Afghanistan.

Iran has the world’s fourth largest oil reserves, but the latest round of sanctions imposed in 2018 by former US President Donald Trump has drastically reduced the country’s exports.

However, Iran has handled some trade, mostly trucking fuel to neighbors like Afghanistan, and the withdrawal of American troops gave the leaders of the two nations more peace when it comes to dealing more openly, Hosseini said.

Taliban urge other countries to exploit their natural resources

The Taliban have sought help from the international community and offered the exploitation of the country’s natural resources to foreign companies to rebuild Afghanistan in a “New and delicate period”, awaiting training “Imminent” and without prior elections for an “inclusive government”.

“There is no time for the elections and we have to prepare a new Constitution, it is a process which takes a long time”, Taliban international spokesman Suhail Shahin said during the interview with Chinese state television station CGTV, in which he declared the opening of a new post-war period in the country, for which the entry of immediate aid will be necessary.

“We have just left an era of war and destruction and are entering a new phase in which the Afghan people need the help of other countries,” the spokesperson said. “Countries should come and help us with health, infrastructure, training and various other necessary sectors.“, added.

Likewise, the spokesperson offered the country’s natural resources for exploitation. “The world can explore our national and natural resources. It is a general invitation to all the countries which help us in this delicate period of our history.“, Has indicated.

In 2010, a report by military experts and American geologists estimated that Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, had nearly one trillion dollars (850,000 million euros) in mineral wealth., thanks to the huge amount of iron, copper, lithium and cobalt.

During the decade that followed, most of these resources remained intact due to the continued violence in the country. While, the value of many of these minerals has skyrocketed, triggered by the global transition to green energy.

A follow-up report from the Afghan government in 2017 estimated that Kabul’s new mineral wealth could reach $ 3 trillion, including fossil fuels, as collected german wave.

(With information from Reuters and Europa Press)

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