Roundup: Karzai's Tehran Tour Aims to Appease Iran Under US Accusations

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 26, 2002

Roundup: Karzai's Tehran Tour Aims to Appease Iran Under US Accusations

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Afghanistan's interim government chairman Hamid Karzai is currently on a three-day visit to Iran, which has widely been considered as a goodwill gesture aimed at appeasing its western neighbor accused by the United States of interfering in Afghan internal affairs.

Upon his arrival in Tehran on Sunday, Karzai started talks with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and hails Iran as brother and friend.

"We have always said that Iran is brother and friend of Afghanistan. We want an Afghanistan where all countries contribute to its reconstruction, exactly what Iran has done so far," Karzai told reporters when asked for comment on recent U.S. allegations concerning Iran's interference in Afghan affairs.

The United States recently cited Iran, together with Iraq and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as an "axis of evil" and accused Tehran of interfering in Afghanistan and providing assistance to al-Qaeda terror network and Taliban fugitives.

U.S. intelligence officials reportedly alleged that they have spotted Iranian intelligence and military personnel working in Afghanistan to destabilize the Afghan interim government.

The U.S. remarks have triggered strong condemnations from Iranian leaders and people from all walks of life.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi has denied all U.S. allegations, saying that "Iran, in accordance with its commitments and U.N. resolutions, has made many efforts to fight terrorism and will do so in the future."

Foreign Minister of Afghan interim government Abdullah Abdullah has recognized that "Iran played an important role in making the Bonn conference (on Afghan interim government) successful and in the realization of peace and security in Afghanistan."

"Americans have not yet presented any evidence in support of their claims. Furthermore, the Islamic Republic of Iran's policy regarding Afghanistan has always been based on the promotion of good neighborly ties," said Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Yunus Qanooni.

Since the two Muslim neighbors share a wide range of historical, religious, cultural and linguistic affinities, Iran has been hosting millions of Afghan refugees during the past two decades of war and bloodshed in Afghanistan.

After helping form the Afghan interim government following the defeat of the Taliban regime, Iran, with a common border of 950 kilometres with Afghanistan, has expressed its willingness to assist the war-torn neighbor in its post-war reconstruction.

To this extent, Iran has pledged to offer 560 million U.S. dollars of grants and loans in five years to Afghanistan, in addition to taking concrete measures to participate in the neighboring country's reconstruction.

U.S. allegations, of course, have hurt Iranians' national feelings, said Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, adding that such baseless accusations are only meant to discourage the Iranian people from helping their Afghan brethren.

Afghanistan has long suffered from civil wars. Following the defeat of the then ruling Taliban regime, anti-Taliban factions, under the coordination of the United Nations, have reached an agreement and formed an interim government, paving the way for a broad-based regime and reconstruction of the war-torn country.

However, rival warlords in the country have still posed a serious threat to the nation's stability.

In order to prevent a return to warlordism and conflict, good neighborhood are very important to the Afghan interim government, analysts here said, adding that Karzai's on-going visit will surely not only neutralize hostile U.S. efforts but also prove a landmark in the expansion of ties and cooperation between Afghanistan and Iran.

After delivering a speech in Persian in Iran's Majlis (parliament) on Monday, Karzai described his talks with Khatami and Iranian parliament Speaker Mahdi Karrubi as "extraordinarily helpful and excellent."

"Although we were confident that our brotherly nation of Iran will take strident steps for building a stronger and more stable Afghanistan and its reconstruction, as it has done so far, our confidence grew firmer during talks yesterday and today," he said.

In response, Khatami voiced Iran's pledge to help construct a developed and stable Afghanistan, stressing that Iran has no need to interfere in Afghan domestic affairs and believes that the future of Afghanistan should be determined by the Afghan people.

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