Return of foreign troops to Afghanistan threatens regional peace: Iran FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the two-decade US war is behind Afghanistan’s current crises, warning that the return of foreign troops to the country “threatens the region’s peace and security”.

Araghchi made the remarks at a meeting with Chinese, Pakistani, and Russian foreign ministers on Afghanistan.

“The United States’ intervention and its two decades of military presence in Afghanistan have brought nothing but disaster and insecurity,” he said, adding that the US war has left “countless” victims and fueled terrorism, drug production, corruption, poverty, and displacement in the country.

Referring to the chaotic US withdrawal in 2021, the minister said that it left Afghanistan and its neighbors to face the consequences of the war alone.

“The United States and NATO are responsible for many of the challenges that Afghanistan and the region are facing today," he stressed.

Iran’s top diplomat emphasized that Iran firmly rejects any form of foreign political or military intervention in Afghanistan, and any attempts to exploit the country’s problems to achieve “geopolitical goals”.

“The re-establishment of foreign military bases inside or around Afghanistan would violate its sovereignty, pose a threat to regional peace and security, and fuel extremism and instability," he stated.

His remarks came as US President Donald Trump threatened Afghanistan's Taliban to return the Bagram air base to the United States, or face "bad things".

Trump tells Afghanistan to return Bagram base to US ‘or bad things are gonna happen’

US President Donald Trump warns Afghanistan’s Taliban to return the Bagram air base to the United States, or bad things are going to happen to them.

Expressing Tehran’s deep concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, Araghchi stressed that humanitarian aid must be provided in “a neutral, non-political and unobstructed” manner.

He called for the unconditional release of Afghanistan’s assets held abroad to restore the country's economic stability and benefit the Afghan people.

The meeting, initiated by Russia, was held on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday. It marked the fourth round of quadrilateral talks between the four ministers on Afghanistan.

In a joint statement, the four ministers reaffirmed support for Afghanistan as an independent, united and stable country free from terrorism, war and drug trafficking.

The ministers urged the NATO members to take responsibility for the repercussions of their military presence in Afghanistan. They called for the lifting of unilateral sanctions, the return Afghanistan’s frozen assets, and the avoidance of any reestablishment of foreign military bases within or around the country.

The statement pointed to the importance of establishing an inclusive government that reflects the will of all the Afghan people.

The ministers also voiced deep concern over the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, including Daesh, warning that these groups pose serious threats to regional and global security.

The statement also urged the Taliban government to take “effective, verifiable measures” to fight terrorism and eliminate all terrorist groups.

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