Tehran: New Ultrakonvative President of Iran Ebrahim Relision on Monday said that the “defeat” of the United States in Afghanistan had to lead peace that was long-lasting in a neighboring country.
“Military defeat and US withdrawal from Afghanistan must offer the opportunity to recover eternal life, security, and peace in the country,” said Relisi, quoted by his office.
The presidential statement came after the Taliban confiscated Kabul’s control, but it did not mention the Taliban or the fall of the capital of Afghanistan.
Relision, which made a statement in a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said the Islamic Republic wanted good relations with Afghanistan.
Iran “monitors evolution of events in Afghanistan” and wants a good bond with it, he said.
The Relision assigned the National Security Council of Zarif and Iran to give him an updated report about the situation in Afghanistan, the statement added.
Iran shares a 900 kilometer border (560 miles) with Afghanistan, and holds nearly 3.5 million Afghans, according to the UN refugee body.
In 1998, Taliban forces entered the Iranian consulate in the city of Mazar-I-Sharif in North Afghanistan, killing several official news agency diplomats and journalists.
The Taliban then said that they had been killed by individuals who acted independently, but Tehran held the movement responsible for death, which triggered anger and almost triggered Iranian military intervention in Afghanistan.
Analysts said Tehran took a pragmatic attitude about the rise of Taliban in Afghanistan.
On Sunday the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had reduced his diplomatic presence in Afghanistan.
The announcement came shortly after the Taliban reached the outskirts of the capital of Aghhan.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the framework staff remained at the embassy of Iran’s Kabul and that employees were also evacuated from three of the five diplomatic missions in other cities.
Zarif meanwhile held a Monday meeting in Tehran with China’s special envoy for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The conversation focuses on the situation in Afghanistan, he said.
Zarif on Sunday said that “Iran stands ready to continue its peace efforts” in Afghanistan.
“Violence and work like war – never solve the problem,” he wrote on Twitter.
His conversation with Chinese envoys came as a government spokesman in Beijing on Monday said China was ready to deepen the “friendly and cooperative” bond with Afghanistan.
Iran says we ‘defeat’ in Afghanistan the opportunity for lasting peace
