The Afghan capital of Kabul has fallen to the Taliban, as fighters marauded through the city, even posing for a photo opportunity in Afghanistan’s Presidential Palace. Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country on Sunday in anticipation of the Taliban’s advance| The Soufan Center
Iran, not unlike the United States, is engaging the newly triumphant Taliban leaders of Afghanistan while staying focused on a troubled history with the hardline Sunni Islamist group. During its 1996-2001 rule, the Taliban repressed pro-Iranian minorities such as the Shiite Hazaras of central Afghanistan and the Persian-speaking Tajiks dominant in the north and west. In 1998| The Soufan Center