Afghan
President Hamid Karzai arrived in Tehran today for a series of meetings with
senior Iranian officials. The Iranians are pushing Karzai to continue his
refusal to sign the bilateral security pact with the U.S.
A
Karzai-appointed Loya Jirga last
month approved the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) to allow and regulate the
presence of some U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the drawdown of U.S. and NATO
forces at the end of 2014, but Karzai’s decision not to sign the accord could
force the U.S. to exercise the so-called “Zero Option,” a total withdrawal from
the country in one year. The Taliban also favor the Zero Option.
Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani tweeted today about close Iran-Afghan ties after
meeting with Karzai at Saadabad Palace in Tehran.
“Iran
and Afghanistan enjoy fraternal ties. Welfare and security of Afghan people
will increase regional co-operation and development,” tweeted Rouhani. (Twitter/@hassanRouhani, 8 December)
Photo
credit: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani greeting Afghan President Hamid Karzai
(foreground) at Saadabad Palace in Tehran. 8 December 2013.
(Twitter/@HassanRouhani)
another begger nation that we have to support despite very high level of unimployment in Iran itself. Afghanistan and Pakistan have never been a country and will never be one. They are run on the basis of momadic tribes with no central government and control. At least the presense of US troups gives a degree of stability to that lawless land. what afgan and pakistan have contrributed to Iran except flooding the country with heroin and drugs plus terrorists using these two countries to attack Iran!
ReplyDeleteJust as Maliki and Iraq leveraged Iran in their dealing with the U.S. military occupation and SOFA, so does Karzai and Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteImagine had the Bush Administration not backstabbed the Khatami administration's support for OEF, pocketing Iranian support and turning around to brand it an "Axis of Evil." These leverage games would not have been feesible, and possibly not even relevant.
the beatn American leave
ReplyDeletethe Iran come in.
10 Years war against some Afghan Ak47 fighter was useless