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Iran Calls for "Broad-based" Afghan Government
Iran has stressed its support for a "broad-based" government in neighboring Afghanistan, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.
Iran stands for an Afghan government which is accepted by all ethnic groups in the war-torn country, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said in an interview with a local newspaper recently.
"A broad-based government, including all ethnic minorities, has to be created (in Afghanistan), which can establish a lasting peace in the country," Kharazi was quoted by IRNA as saying.
"Our problem with Taliban relates to the fact that it is not accepted by other ethnic minorities," he added.
Iran is a frequent critic of the Afghan Sunni fundamentalist Taliban militia, which Iran does not recognize. But Tehran opened a consulate in Herat a year ago.
After the consulate was attacked by protesters following a bomb blast in a mosque that killed an exiled Iranian scholar and nine others, Iran recalled its diplomats from Herat and closed the consulate last month.
"If all ethnic Afghan groups reach a consensus to cooperate with a certain government in the country, we would not interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. However, the reality is something else," Kharazi said.
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