Afghanistan’s national security adviser has criticized Iran’s statement regarding the strategic agreement between Afghanistan and the United States, adding that Iran’s foreign policy is unsuccessful and ineffective.
Rangin Dadfar Spanta, speaking at a meeting of professors and students at Herat University on Monday, defended the strategic agreement between Afghanistan and the U.S., saying Afghanistan’s priority is to address the concerns of its own people.
Iran has denounced the 10-year strategic agreement between the two countries that was finally signed last week by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. President Barack Obama.
In the first official reaction to the agreement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed concern, alleging that future plans for U.S. military bases remain unclear in the agreement, and the U.S. responsibility for security is not transparent.
The Iranian ambassador to Kabul said in a meeting with the head of Afghanistan’s Senate that Afghanistan’s National Council should not approve the agreement.
Ambassador Abolfazl Zohrehvand has said that if the Senate and the Afghan Parliament approve this agreement, Afghanistan will face grave problems, and Iran will expel all of its Afghan refugees.
However, the two Afghan governing bodies have described the ambassador’s statement as interference in Afghan affairs and, in response, they have summoned the ambassador for explanations.
Spanta said Afghan territory will never be used to launch an attack on a third country.
He said the signing of the agreement is aimed at establishing “a strong government based on the pluralistic democratic constitution and the accepted principles of human rights.”
He accused Iran of trying to infiltrate governments in the region and described Iran’s foreign policy as a failed strategy.
