U.S.-Afghan strategic pact a serious threat to region: diplomat

TEHRAN – An Iranian Foreign Ministry says the strategic pact between the United States and Afghanistan is a serious threat to security in the region.

“This pact is a serious threat to security in Afghanistan and the region. The U.S. has not readily pulled out of any region it has entered after the Second World War,” Mohsen Pak-Aeen, the director of Foreign Ministry department for Afghan affairs, told the Mehr News Agency.

The establishment of U.S. permanent military bases in Afghanistan, which is one of the key points included in the document, will pave the way for the permanent presence of the U.S. in Afghanistan, enabling the U.S. government to pursue its objectives outside this country, Pak-Aeen commented.

“If this agreement would be concluded, on the one hand, Afghanistan will become the scene of rivalry between other countries like Russia and China, and on the other hand, the deployment of Americans in the region will set the stage for the U.S. to pursue its hegemonistic goals in the region,” he stated.

The main motive behind Washington’s decision to establish strategic relations with Afghanistan is to control Russia and China, threaten Iran, and have access to Afghanistan’s natural resources, the diplomat opined.

On the planned international conferences on Afghanistan in Istanbul and Bonn in November and December, Pak-Aeen said that the Islamic Republic of Iran supports any action to help establish peace and security in Afghanistan and regards such conferences as positive moves.

But, he said, Iran’s decision to take part in these conferences depends on future developments regarding the issue of Afghanistan.

“We believe that Afghanistan’s neighbors (should) have an important and key role in adopting security measures and helping the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Pak-Aeen underlined.

He said the presences of foreign forces in the region and ignoring the role of Afghanistan’s neighbors have increased insecurity and violence in Afghanistan over past 10 years.

Any international conference, which takes these issues into consideration and recognizes the key role of Afghanistan’s neighbors, could yield positive results, the diplomat noted.