Iran has "strongly condemned" the Taliban's military offensive against resistance fighters in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters the news from Panjshir was "truly worrying".

“There is only a political solution to Panjshir and the siege of Panjshir is by no means acceptable in terms of international law and humanitarian law,” he told reporters.

Iran, which shares a border with Afghanistan, did not recognise the Taliban during the group's time in power between 1996 and 2001.

However, since the militants seized control again last month, it had refrained from criticising the group, according to AFP news agency.

As we have been reporting, the Taliban say they are now in complete control of Panjshir, but forces resisting their rule have denied this.

Image source, PA Media

A government defence minister has apologised after mistakenly saying a British Afghan veteran took their own life after seeing events unfold in Afghanistan.

James Heappey told Sky News he felt "sick to the bottom of my stomach" after learning a soldier who served in Afghanistan had taken their own life "because of their feelings as a consequence of withdrawal".

But he later told the BBC the report may be inaccurate.

He added that this "shouldn't take away [from the fact] that far too many service people have taken their own lives in the last 10 years as a consequence of their service in Afghanistan".

The Ministry of Defence also said it was looking into the report of the death, but it is understood that it is untrue.

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Image source, PA Media

Stepping away from the Taliban news conference for now.

In a few hours, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to defend his handling of the Afghanistan crisis in parliament.

He will pledge to "use every economic, political and diplomatic lever to protect our country from harm and help the Afghan people".

He will also commend the "courage and ingenuity" of those involved in the UK's evacuation of around 15,000 people from the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The prime minister is expected to provide an update on the government's new resettlement programme for Afghans, , externalwhich will allow a total of 20,000 people to settle in the UK over the coming years.

Both Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have faced criticism over the UK's response to the Taliban takeover.

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Image source, @SecKermani

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has now finished speaking in Kabul. Here are the key points on what he said:

• The Taliban have taken control of the Panjshir Valley - although the resistance forces in the valley deny this
• The Taliban tried to negotiate but used force when talks failed
• It is unclear where the leaders of the resistance in Panjshir are now, adding there are unconfirmed reports that former Vice-President Amrullah Saleh has left the country
• The group's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, is alive and "will come into public view soon"
• On the long-awaited announcement of a new Afghan government, he said all important decisions have already been made and the final line-up will be announced soon
• He said Pakistan has closed border crossings over security concerns posed by escaped prisoners in Afghanistan
• Domestic flights have restarted, and the group is waiting to see when international flights can resume, but Kabul airport is very damaged

The Taliban's spokesman has said the group's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, is alive and "will come into public view soon".

Questions had been raised about where he is and why he hasn’t made any public appearances so far.

Akhundzada became the supreme commander of the Taliban in May 2016.

He is believed to be in his 60s and has lived most of his life in Afghanistan.

However, according to experts, he maintains close ties with the so-called "Quetta Shura" - the Afghan Taliban leaders said to be based in the Pakistani city of Quetta.

As the group's supreme commander, Akhundzada is in charge of political, military and religious affairs.

You can read more about him and the other Taliban leaders here

Asked about the Taliban's treatment of women, Zabihullah Mujahid repeats previous statements that women's rights will be respected under the framework of Sharia, or Islamic law - but again does not elaborate on what that means in practice.

"Women are an important part of our society," he says.

But despite the group's claims, there have been increasing reports of escalating repression of women in Afghanistan.

On Sunday witnesses told the BBC that Taliban militants had shot dead a policewoman in a provincial city.

• What is Sharia law? What does it mean for women in Afghanistan?

During the Taliban news conference where the militant's spokesman claimed the group had taken control of Panjshir, Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) took to Twitter to say its leader Ahmad Massoud is safe.

So far, the resistance has rejected all claims that the valley has fallen to Taliban forces.

The Taliban spokesman notes that there have been particular issues for Afghans trying to enter Pakistan via the Chaman and Torkham border crossings.

He says the Taliban have consistently ordered their fighters not to block access to the crossings.

But he adds that a recent delegation to Kabul said the crossings had been closed due to security concerns linked to release of prisoners inside Afghanistan, and requested checks for those seeking to enter or leave the country.

Image source, Reuters

The Taliban spokesman has just been asked about the new government and what it will look like.

He repeated promises that it will be an “inclusive” government, but said he could not give more details yet.

The new government is expected to be announced any day now, but Zabihullah Mujahid has not given an exact time for this.

Since their takeover, there have been questions about what exactly the Taliban's new government will mean for women, human rights, and political freedoms.

Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says he has been told that former Afghan Vice-President Amrullah Saleh has left Afghanistan and escaped to neighbouring Tajikistan.

Saleh joined resistance forces in Panjshir following the Taliban takeover of the rest of the country. Last week he released a video denying that he had fled the valley.

The Taliban says the people who were in control of Panjshir are “missing at the moment”.

The spokesman said that Afghanistan is their home, and that they can return if they want.

He added that weapons seized from Panjshir would be added to Afghanistan's weapons cache.

The Taliban spokesman has said that domestic flights have restarted, and adds that the group is waiting to see when international flights can resume.

The governments of Turkey and Qatar have been helping to restore services from Kabul airport, he says, and claims that the US damaged the airport before leaving Afghanistan.

The Taliban spokesman is asking the international community to help them rebuild Afghanistan.

He called on countries to continue humanitarian assistance.

He also tried to assure Afghans that the situation in the country would get back to normal slowly, and the economy would improve.

The Taliban spokesman says electricity and internet in Panjshir will resume from today.

The Islamist group had closed phone, internet and electricity lines in the area.

The Taliban is also claiming there were no civilian casualties in the takeover of Panjshir.

Image source, Reuters

The valley in eastern Afghanistan has become the home of the National Resistance Front (NRF), a multi-ethnic group made up of militias and former Afghan security force members, reportedly numbering in the thousands.

The NRF has been joined by former vice-president Amrullah Saleh, but its leader is Ahmad Massoud, whose father was known as the "Lion of Panjshir", and for good reason.

Ahmad Shah Massoud not only held off the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, but went on to keep the Taliban out in the 1990s, only to be killed by assassins two days before 9/11.

His son - a 32-year-old King's College London and Sandhurst Military Academy graduate - is now determined to do the same and keep the Taliban out. And he is not just looking for support at home - earlier this year he met France's President Emmanuel Macron, seemingly in a bid for international allies as the US withdrawal drew nearer.

The Taliban spokesman says the resistance gave “negative answers” when the Taliban tried to negotiate.

Zabuhullah Mujahid said the Taliban sent military forces in to get rid of the final pocket of “terrorism”.

Image source, AFP

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has claimed that the group has taken control of Panjshir province.

The valley "has been cleared today completely", he told a news conference in Kabul.

The Taliban's main spokesman has begun his press conference. We'll bring you the latest.

It's just past 11:00 in Kabul and we're expecting to hear from the Taliban's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

It's unclear whether he will talk about Panjshir or wider developments - such as the long-awaited government formation.

As we mentioned in our opening post, the Taliban claim they have now taken control of Panjshir Valley, completing their takeover of the country.

"Panjshir province completely fell to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," the Islamist militant group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said.

"With this victory and latest efforts our country has come out of the whirlpool of the war and our people will have a happy life in peace, liberty and freedom in the entire country.”

Pictures on social media showed Taliban fighters in front of the gate of the provincial governor's compound. The BBC has not been able to independently verify them.

However, the resistance fighters have denied that the area has been captured.

"It is not true, the Taliban haven't captured Panjshir I am rejecting Taliban claims," Ali Maisam, spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), told the BBC.

The NRF also denied the Taliban's claims in a post on Twitter.

"The struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails," they said.

You can read more on this here