KABUL (TOLO News): Tensions between the United States and Iran may have a negative impact on Afghanistan, a number of Afghan and US experts said at an event organized by the Afghan Institute of Strategic Studies (AISS) in Kabul, as senior negotiators from the US and the Taliban continue talks in Doha.
Speaking at the event titled, “Assessing US-Iran Tensions and their Implication for Afghanistan,” Mahmoud Saikal, former permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, said that further escalation between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran can create serious challenges in the way of the Afghan peace process, particularly in the wake of the US killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
“Tensions can create challenges in the way of the talks between the US and the Taliban, particularly, in view of a lack of cooperation between Iran and the United States,” said Saikal.
According to Saikal, there is a possibility that Afghanistan will unwillingly get involved in those tensions.
Saikal spoke about the shared interests of the US and Iran in Afghanistan and said that both countries have contributed to the fight against the Taliban insurgency, as well as the fight against the illegal drug trade in Afghanistan.
Saikal noted that Afghanistan is concerned about the recent escalation between the two countries, and the use of Afghanistan’s terrain as a battleground.
The Afghan government previously announced that Afghans will not allow anyone to use its soil against other nations.
Meanwhile, Arian Sharifi, former director of threats assessment at the National Security Council, said that there is the possibility that the “Mashhad council,” will resort to some activities against the US in Afghanistan.
“In 2017, the Mashhad council was created, they (the Taliban) are in Mashhad and they also have an office in Birjand– a group of Taliban there has a relationship with Iran,” said Sharifi.
American political commentator Prof. Barnett Rubin, associate director of New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, spoke about the US policy towards Afghanistan amid sanctions and its hostile relationship with Iran.
He said that there is a lack of clarity in the US policy towards Afghanistan.
“Many aspects of the US policy, especially its policy towards Iran, is not consistent with its policy towards Afghanistan,” Rubin said, adding: “Other aspects of the US relationship with Iran precede its relationship with Iran regarding Afghanistan.”
The Afghan government meanwhile has urged both Iran and the US to settle their disputes with diplomacy:
“The fundamental objectives of foreign policy of the Afghan government is based on the interest of the people, and we have always stressed the need for the settlement of disputes through diplomatic channels,” said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for President Ghani.
