Iran FM slams the US for it’s ‘wrong policies’ on Afghanistan

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has condemned the United States and its allies for the “wrong policies” they adopted in Afghanistan and said their stance had been engineered to create rifts between Afghanistan and its neighbor.

The Iranian government said in a statement that Amir Abdollahian made the remarks during a meeting with Afghanistan’s visiting acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday.

Amir Abdollahian also said that the efforts of Afghans showed that no foreign power can occupy and rule Afghanistan and that history has proven that the bond between the people of the two countries is a type of “kinship”.

The Iranian government said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) had made “positive remarks” regarding the formation of an inclusive government. Amir Abdollahian “stressed the need to provide acceptable indicators in this regard”.

He also said Iran will use “regional capacities for further assistance to alleviate Afghans’ problems”.

Amir Abdollahian also stated that Afghanistan’s frozen assets by the United States should be released for humanitarian reasons and to help improve the economic situation.

Meanwhile, the Afghan delegation presented a report on the process of countering Daesh (ISIS) and other terrorist groups, as well as policies related to countering drug production and trafficking in Afghanistan.

Muttaqi stressed that Iran has always stood by Afghanistan and said the new government is not anti any of its neighboring countries.

Muttaqi also said: “Although the United States withdrew from Afghanistan with a disgraceful defeat, it still continues its policies against the Afghan people, and as a result of these policies, 80% of the Afghan people are below the poverty threshold”.

The two sides also discussed Iran’s water share agreement regarding the Helmand River. According to the statement, the Afghan delegation said a commission would meet with Iranian officials to resolve issues regarding water.

Meanwhile, the IEA’s deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi said that Muttaqi also met with Iran’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi Qomi.

He said that the discussions had been positive and constructive and had included bilateral economic-related political relations, trade, commerce, oil, transit and security issues.

Both sides agreed that Afghanistan’s geographical location acted as a link between Central and South Asia. They also noted that it was a route for Iran to transit its exports to other countries in the region, and for Afghanistan to be able to export goods through Iran.