Iran blames US-led mission for Afghan quagmire

Iran has blamed the rising Taliban-linked extremism in Afghanistan on Western countries’ interference in the war-torn country.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who was speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, raised the alarm about the spread of extremism from Afghanistan to India, Central Asia and Arab countries, IRIB reported.

“The Taliban-linked extremism could split into two different regions, one going to Arab countries and the other spreading to India and Central Asia.”

Mottaki also called into question the West’s measures meant to curb extremism and fight drug cultivation and smuggling. “Policies adopted over the recent year which aimed at fighting extremism and drug smuggling have proved to be of no avail.”

He said that the drug trade originating in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of almost three thousand Iranian police forces over the past 30 years.

Tehran is also critical of the NATO-led mission in the country, saying that the presence of the coalition forces in the country has aggravated the situation in Afghanistan.

The situation in Afghanistan has become a global crisis as the 2001 invasion continues to feed violence in the country.

Afghanistan and the NATO mission is one of the top issues to be discussed at the Munich Security Conference, which brings together leading experts from around the world.