Besides exploring new investment opportunities, the visit sought to expand Afghanistan-Iran bilateral trade with the goal of increasing it to $10 billion from the current $3.5 billion. He emphasized Iran’s intention to strengthen trade relations with all of Iran’s neighboring countries, particularly Afghanistan. Since then, despite some outstanding issues, relations between the two have been moving on a somewhat positive trajectory. A few days before the May 2023 clashes, the Taliban maintained that, due to water scarcity, Afghanistan could not meet Iran’s water demands. Despite these challenges, the Iranian delegation’s visit to Afghanistan indicates a growing relationship between the Taliban regime and Iran.