Iranian MP Blasts US, Allies for Insecurity in Afghanistan

A senior Iranian legislator lashed out at the US and its allies for the prolonged presence of their military forces in Afghanistan, and said that the Muslim country has become more insecure despite the West’s claims about getting rid of the remnants of al-Qaeda.

“Western military forces, which have occupied Afghanistan since 2001 under the pretext of fighting al-Qaeda and terrorism, have remained in the country despite their previous claims that they would withdraw from Afghanistan after the establishment of the government and the national army,” Abbas Ali Mansouri-Arani said.

He noted that the US-led invasion of Afghanistan removed the Taliban from power, but the country remains insecure despite the presence of tens of thousands of NATO forces in the Muslim country.

Mansouri Arani stated that reports about the killing of Afghan children by NATO forces prove that the presence of foreign troops has not provided security in Afghanistan and has only spread unrest and violence in the country.

Iranian officials have frequently lashed out at the US and NATO forces for occupation of Afghanistan for more than a decade under the pretext of war on terror.

Last month, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani took Washington responsible for the problems and damages inflicted on the regional countries, specially Afghanistan.

“Those who claim to be campaigning against terrorism have not only not achieved any of their claimed objectives in their campaign, but also turned Afghanistan into a totally ruined land,” Larijani said, addressing an audience in New Delhi.

He described the war in Afghanistan as fruitless, and said the war has no positive consequences.

Larijani pointed to the problems facing the countries of the region, and said they can merely be settled through cooperation among the regional states.

Iran has always underscored the significant role of the regional and neighboring countries in the establishment of durable peace and security in the region, specially in Afghanistan, and took the trans-regional forces deployed in Afghanistan responsible for the expansion of insecurities in the war-torn country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi announced in June Iran’s deep concerns over the increasing growth of violence and insecurity in Afghanistan as well as the repeated cases of foreign troops’ human rights violations and manslaughter in the country.

Tehran stresses that the responsibility for the establishment of security and stability in Afghanistan should be in hands of the country’s government and security forces, but not foreigners.

Afghanistan has long been a focus of imperial rivalry and scene of foreign intervention, most recently since the 2001 US-led invasion but also in the 1980s uprising against Russian troops that ultimately helped bring down the Soviet Union.

Washington denies it is seeking to establish permanent military bases in Afghanistan, but American military sources say they envisage around 15,000 forces remaining in Afghanistan after the 2014 withdrawal.