Presence of foreign forces in region root cause of problems: Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has described the presence of foreign forces in any regional country as the root cause of more problems for the entire region.

“The presence of foreign forces in any regional country will only serve to create problems,” Iran’s president said in a meeting with new Afghan Ambassador to Tehran Abdulghafour Lival on Sunday.

“We are confident that the US military presence in Afghanistan has not and will not benefit security of the country and Afghan people,” the Iranian president said, emphasizing that the US only seeks to achieve its own goals by spreading insecurity in the region.

The Islamic Republic endorses Afghanistan’s sovereignty, unity and integrity and is always ready to help the country boost its stability, Rouhani said.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of a war on terror to topple the very Taliban militants they are now negotiating with. Some 18 years on, terrorism rages on across the country chiefly by the Taliban.

Some US troops in Afghanistan are engaged in what Washington has described as “counterterrorism operations” against radical militant groups.