Iran Welcomes Peaceful Transition of Power in Afghanistan

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Saeed Khatibzadeh pointed to the latest developments in Afghanistan, saying, “We are closely monitoring developments (in Afghanistan) and are in contact with all involved parties.”

“As (Iran’s Foreign Minister) Dr. Zarif said in his (Sunday) tweet, the Islamic Republic of Iran will use all facilities and means at its disposal to pave the way for dialogue and reconciliation in Afghanistan and also welcomes the initiative to form a coordination council,” the spokesman noted, pointing to a proposal from Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai.

He also noted that Iran enjoys a great deal of historical and cultural commonalities with Afghanistan and has always stood by the Muslim people of the neighboring country at all sensitive and important junctures of history despite all difficulties and limitations.

As always, he added, Iran will stand by the Afghan people at the current decisive juncture and will "make its utmost efforts to (help) achieve peace" in the crisis-hit country, Press TV reported.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran expresses concern over the intensified violence in Afghanistan and calls on all sides to reduce violence, maintain peace and try to achieve peaceful solutions via dialogue," the Iranian spokesperson added.

Referring to the new wave of displaced people as a result of the violence in Afghanistan, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “We hope that the international community and concerned institutions would pay serious attention to this issue, and especially under conditions created by the coronavirus pandemic, would fulfill their duties and help these displaced people.”

He also stressed the importance of paying serious attention to security of Iranian diplomats and diplomatic missions in accordance with international conventions and said, "Iran's Foreign Ministry is in constant contact with the diplomatic staff in its embassy and consulate in Kabul and Herat and is consistently monitoring the ongoing developments."

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran hopes that all sides would come together to solve the existing problems through dialogue and political understanding,” adding, “Iran, once again, declares its readiness to facilitate resolution of Afghanistan’s issues through intra-Afghan dialogue... and also to help forge regional consensus on the issue of Afghanistan.”

In a Sunday tweet after Taliban forces entered the Afghan capital and the country's President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif rejected war and violence as a solution to the existing problems in the neighboring state, reiterating Iran’s support for the establishment of sustainable peace in Afghanistan.

Zarif's tweet came after Karzai announced via a Sunday Twitter post the establishment of a coordination council, attended by high-ranking Afghan officials, including the country's chief peace negotiator with the Taliban, Abdullah Abdullah, to be responsible for the “peaceful transfer of power” and reduce the possibility of further chaos and insecurity that would harm the Afghan people.

Karzai noted that the council was formed after Ghani and other officials left the country in order to manage Afghanistan's affairs in the best possible manner and pave the way for the peaceful transition of power.