A conference is starting in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday on the future of Afghanistan, but without the country's new rulers, the Islamist Taliban.

The foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighbouring states - Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - plan to attend in person on Wednesday.

The top diplomats of China and Russia are expected to participate via video link.

President Ebrahim Raisi was to open the one-day conference in the Iranian capital.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Iran's main aim is to ensure that all political groups inside Afghanistan are involved in shaping the country's political future.

In order to achieve this goal, all of Afghanistan's neighbouring states must work together constructively, it said.

Foreign interference should be avoided, a ministry spokesperson wrote on Twitter.

dpa