US-Taliban pact harmful for Afghanistan, Iran: Zarif

KABUL (Pajhwok): Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif says the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha in February is harmful for both Afghanistan and Iran.

“What is harmful for Iran and Afghanistan is that the US signs an agreement with the Taliban and wants to impose it on the Afghan people,” Zarif told Tolo News during an interview when asked if the US-Taliban closeness harms Iran.

When asked if Tehran recognizes the Taliban as a terrorist group, the foreign minister said the Taliban had committed many terrorist acts and his country had not removed the group from their list of terrorist groups in his country’s laws.

“The Taliban is a group in Afghanistan that has committed terrorist acts and it is necessary now to consider the Taliban as part of a future solution, not (the whole) future solution for Afghanistan. There is a big difference in it.”

He said his country followed exactly what was decided by the UN Security Council.

He said the Taliban were a reality in future but achievements of the past 19 years by the Afghan people — democracy, rights of minority groups and women’s rights — were all realities as well.

“People’s participation to decide their fate is a reality in Afghanistan and we must recognize this reality. These are the events that happened in the past. We have always opposed the presence of foreign troops in the region.”

Zarif said the presence of foreign troops, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, or in any other country, disrupted peace and security in the region.

“But we are not making decisions separate from the governments of these countries. Their governments are independent and make their own decisions. The decision is made by the people.”

He denied Iran contributed to the US presence in Afghanistan and said instead his country contributed to establishing an independent and democratic government in Afghanistan.

When asked if Iran’s foreign policy on Afghanistan underwent any serious change after the death of QasimSoleimani, Zarif said his country’s Afghanistan policy had never changed and it had been always to support the Afghan government and the Afghan people.

“We are of the opinion that all Afghan groups should decide Afghanistan’s future. This policy is the policy of [Iran’s] government.”

About the presence of foreign military in Afghanistan, the foreign minister said radicals and extremists exploited the presence of foreign military to serve their terroristic purposes.

“This is a reality and we saw it in Iraq. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi started to operate [its Jihadi terrorist group] in Iraq after such a presence. The US presence in Afghanistan hurt the feelings of some groups in Afghanistan that were then exploited by Daesh, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban movement.”

Zarif said Iran had always ties with legal governments of Afghanistan and they were happy for having played an active role over the past 20 years with the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

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