US Policy of Trial and Error Root Cause of Crisis in Afghanistan: Iran’s FM

Hossein Amirabdollahian gave an address to a virtual meeting on the "Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan" chaired by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday.

"We all face a new situation and a new challenge in Afghanistan today and we believe that a key reason for the current instability, insecurity and dire situation in Afghanistan is the policies of trial and error of the United States of America,” the top Iranian diplomat said in his speech.

He also said the US created tragedies during the years of occupation of Afghanistan and created a disaster with the way it withdrew from that country, as the world has witnessed those disastrous scenes at Kabul airport in recent days.

Highlighting the message of the meeting on both political and humanitarian aspects, Amirabdollahian added, "At the political level, we must send a single message to Afghanistan that a secure, stable and developed Afghanistan can only be created through the formation of an inclusive national government composed of all parties."

He also expounded on Tehran’s vision on the humanitarian level and added, "We believe that in the humanitarian dimension, the people, women and children in Afghanistan in recent years and in recent weeks have been facing a deplorable situation and today the international community is obliged and should send urgent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.”

Expressing Iran’s readiness to facilitate the dispatch of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan by various countries, Amirabdollahian said Iran has kept all its borders open to help prevent a new refugee influx from Afghanistan.

He then noted that this is aimed at keeping local businesses, common markets and cross-border trade open while sending humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website.

The foreign minister also criticized the international community for failing to fulfill its obligations to address the situation of Afghan refugees.

He stressed the need for immediate humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and also the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

Amirabdollahian emphasized Iran’s relationship with all parties in Afghanistan, adding, "We pursue a policy that seeks the formation of an inclusive Afghan government and also want an Afghanistan free of terrorism and drugs where the Afghan people themselves can decide their future."