After US exit, Iran hopes to lead global diplomacy to end conflict in Afghanistan

New Delhi, Sep 1: Aware of the power vacuum that had developed in Afghanistan after the historic exit of US forces, Iran has stepped up efforts to lead international diplomacy to stabilise the war-torn country with the formation of a "balanced" government in Kabul.

"20 years of US occupation brought Afghanistan nothing but death & destruction. It's now a historic opportunity for Afghan leaders to put an end to their people's plight by ending violence & forming an inclusive government," tweeted Saeed Khatibzadeh, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman after the US withdrawal from Kabul.

Analysts say that Iran is uniquely positioned to facilitate formation of an inclusive government as it has nodes of strong influence within the Afghan factions.

Since 2001, under the guidance of former Al Quds commander Qasem Suleimani, Tehran decided to engage with the Taliban, visualising foreign forces will eventually leave Kabul and the extremist group may emerge as a heavyweight representing the majority Pashtun community of Afghanistan.

Historically Iran has had a strong influence on Afghanistan's minorities, especially the Tajik, Hazara and Shia communities. Leveraging its sectoral influence, Iran is already engaged in diplomacy that brings most of the communities in Afghanistan on the negotiating table in Tehran.

Having achieved their strategic objective of ending the US military presence in Afghanistan, Iran's new President, Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, has said that the US military defeat and withdrawal from Afghanistan should be an opportunity to restore life, security, and lasting peace in Kabul.

"Iran will work for establishing stability, which is the first need of Afghanistan today, and as a neighbour and brother country, calls on all groups to reach a national agreement," the new Iranian president had said while speaking with former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Instead of engaging with western powers, Iran is keen to find a "regional" solution to end the Afghan crisis.

"What we need more than ever today is sustainable regional security with the participation of the countries of the region, the realization of which depends on the use of economic resources to realize the coalition for peace and development," Iran's newly-appointed foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian recently said during an international conference in Iraq.

Iran insists that the new government is pursuing a "balanced, active and smart" foreign policy which can pave the way for political, economic and cultural cooperation in the region and guarantee the grounds for an all-round growth and development of the countries by utilizing the "God-given" wealth.

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