Perspectives on Cultural Relations between Iran and Afghanistan

Although Afghanistan and Iran share a common civilizational structure and have cultural, linguistic, literary, historical and religious similarities and ties, the cultural relations between the two countries have been held hostage in a way in the last few decades under the influence of political developments and foreign interventions. This issue was clearly evident during the twentyyear rule of the republican system (the liberal democracy of Hamid Karzai- Ashraf Ghani), and now, after nearly three years of the second Taliban government, culture, if not to say hostage to politics, is strongly influenced by the Taliban's political strategies. Whether we like it or not, culture and politics follow and are subordinate to each other. In other words, both culture affects politics and politics affects culture. The collapse of the US-dependent political system and the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan are in themselves the most important platform for the expansion of cultural activities in this country. With the coming to power of the second Taliban government, the question has always been on the minds of Iranian policymakers as to what the Taliban's approach to cultural interactions will be? Given the existence of some restrictions in the Ashraf Ghani government for cultural interactions, it seemed that with the conclusion of the intra-Afghan negotiations and the formation of an interim government, more ground would be created for cultural activities. However, the Taliban leaders' disregard for the formation of an inclusive government and the lack of acceptance of other groups and political movements within the country and the prioritization of security issues have practically caused cultural relations to be at their lowest during the nearly 3 years of Taliban rule.