Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Dushanbe Wednesday morning.
The Tajik Foreign Ministry refrained from commenting on the purpose of Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, Iranian Fars News Agency (FNA) had earlier reported that the main purpose of the visit for Mohammad Javad Zarif to Tajikistan is an official opening of a new building of Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe.
Iranian foreign minister is reportedly also planned to hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
Iranian Minister of Energy and Water Resources Reza Ardakaniyan is reportedly accompanying Mohammad Javad Zarif on his trip to Tajikistan.
Meanwhile Iranian media outlets report that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will pay visit to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on Wednesday.
According to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) the visits will take place at the official invitation of the authorities of the two countries.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi was cited as saying Zarif plans to meet Tajikistan’s high-ranking officials in the country’s capital, Dushanbe.
During his visit to Uzbekistan, Zarif will hold talks with the country’s officials and attend the International Conference on Security and Sustainable Development in Central Asia, the spokesman added.
Iran Front Page reports Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who arrived in Dushanbe on Wednesday, has met his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Aslov. During the meeting, Zarif and Aslov reportedly discussed issues of mutual interest.
There have been no serious bilateral diplomatic engagements within the past two years, but Zarif’s visit to Dushanbe is believed to be a serious step to mend Iran-Tajikistan ties, according to Iran Front Page.
The Iranian top diplomat’s visit to Tajikistan is the first of its kind in the past couple of years.
Tajikistan and Iran have traditionally close relations, sharing many similar cultural, religious and ethnic identifiers and Iran has been a major sponsor of essential hydropower infrastructure in Tajikistan, but Iran has angered Tajikistan by welcoming IRPT leader Muhiddin Kabiri, who is wanted by police in Tajikistan to face various terrorism charges.
Recall, Iran invited IRPT leader Muhiddin Kabiri to attend the International Islamic Unity Conference that took place in Tehran on December 27-29, 2015.
Tajikistan’s MFA said in a statement on December 29, 2015 that it was “greatly concerned” that “the head of the extremist and terrorist former IRPT, Muhiddin Kabiri, who faces charges of attempting to overthrow the government … has been invited to the conference.”
Some sources, however, say the tension between the two countries goes back to earlier times and is in connection with the assets of Babak Zanjani, the Iranian billionaire who is in jail and was earlier sentenced to death.
Anyway, Tajikistan’s customs service in April 2016 introduced restrictions on the import of food products from Iran. Dry leaf tea, poultry and other goods were ruled unacceptable for their allegedly poor quality. In July 2016, the Tajik office of Iran’s Khomeini Imdod Committee, an international development fund, closed. In early July this year, the Iranian trade and culture center in the Tajik northern city of Khujand, which was particularly appreciated for its library services and fast internet, closed its doors. The shuttering reportedly came at the request of the Tajik authorities.
In August this year, Tajik authorities have accused Iran of backing high-profile killings in Tajikistan during the Tajik civil war in the 1990s. In a documentary broadcast on Tajik national television on August 8, the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan claimed that Iran was allegedly interested in unleashing civil war in Tajikistan, and it allegedly provided assistance to the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) and trained its militants in Iranian territory. The documentary also accused Iran of involvement in the murder of several Tajik social and political figures as well as 20 Russian military officers in the country during the 1990s Tajik civil war. The documentary further claimed that at the time, Iran had organized a plot to “eliminate Tajik scientists and intellectuals.
Iran’s Embassy in Dushanbe on August 9 released a statement, in which it dismisses “unfounded claims made in the documentary.” The statement posted on the Embassy’s website, in particular, described such claims as 'regrettable' saying there is no doubt that the documentary’s producers will not be able to mar cultural bonds and historic friendship between the two nations of Iran and Tajikistan.
It added that the noble nation of Tajikistan will never forget that Iran as one of the main founders and guarantors of Tajikistan’s peace and host of talks between the country's conflicting sides, has played a constructive role in ending Tajikistan's civil wars in 1990.
