share Print Iran is defending its hosting of a senior Taliban delegation for an entire week in a move that analysts say is aimed at highlighting its influence and cultivating ties with the potential future government of Afghanistan. The delegation, led by Taliban political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, held talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, amid criticism by many who pointed to Taliban atrocities and abuses by the extremist group, mainly the 1998 killings of seven Iranian diplomats and a journalist in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif after it was overrun by Taliban militants.