Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, Iran’s special representative in Kabul, believes that despite the U.S.’s clear failure in Afghanistan, they continue to try to destabilize the country and support terrorism, especially ISIS.
Qomi made these statements on Tuesday, January 16th, during an interview with the IRNA news agency in Islamabad.
According to the special representative and ambassador of Iran in Kabul, America’s policies have not only failed in Afghanistan after 20 years of occupation but have also failed in other countries like Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.
He emphasized that “instability and insecurity in Afghanistan continue to be America’s priority, and for various reasons, they pursue this policy because, in the view of Americans, Afghanistan can become a place of conflict and confrontation with their rivals and adversaries, such as China, Iran, and Russia, and Afghanistan must continue to follow a confrontational path with these countries.”
According to Qomi, neighboring countries of Afghanistan will be the most affected by the developments and events in Afghanistan, and on that basis, “Afghanistan’s neighbors have the most interaction with the people and government of this country.”
He added, “The more Afghanistan moves toward instability and insecurity, we will witness a flood of Afghan refugees towards neighboring countries, including Iran. If Afghanistan’s economy worsens and poverty intensifies, we will see an increase in drug cultivation and recruitment of forces for terrorist groups like ISIS.”
Qomi also said, “Fortunately, we have achieved a positive approach in negotiations with key regional players, including Pakistan. We emphasize regional cooperation in engaging with Kabul.”
Today, Iran launched missiles into Pakistan’s Balochistan region, causing a rise in diplomatic tensions. In response, Pakistan has recalled its ambassador from Tehran.
Earlier, Kazemi-Qomi had announced during a visit to Pakistan an agreement on the formation of regional contact groups for Afghanistan.
This comes at a time when Iran has maintained good relations with the Taliban in the past two years, despite tensions over water rights and the Helmand River.