Iran’s role in Afghanistan

Re: “Afghans tire of Iran meddling in their affairs,” Lauryn Oates, Opinion, June 12.

Lauryn Oates raised unsubstantiated allegations about Iran’s role in Afghanistan. I would like to bring some points to your readers’ attention.

Iran respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty, yet strongly believes foreign intervention is not the solution for Afghanistan’s problems. NATO’s invasion has worsened the situation and increased opium production 40-fold, besides the deaths of thousands of Afghan civilians.

As stability in Afghanistan is in our national security interest, Iran’s strategy toward Kabul is co-operation aimed at developing peace and security.

Iran has warm relations with President Hamid Karzai’s government. Iran and Afghanistan are historically intertwined and their proximity and commonalities help set a strategic framework for co-operation in different fields.

After the Soviet invasion and subsequent civil war, Iran became home to more than three million Afghan refugees.

They have lived and worked freely and even used all subsidized services, which are basically for Iranians. The UN high commissioner for refugees frequently has hailed Iran’s “active role” in this regard.

My country pledged more than $700 million for Afghan infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, energy, agriculture, education and health care.

Iran has endured a hefty cost with negligible help from the outside world for its campaign against drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

In the past three decades, more than 4,000 Iranians have lost their lives and 12,000 were injured in the fight against drug trafficking. Dealing with drug barons should not be blamed on Iran, and the West should be thankful to my country.

To undermine Iranians’ contribution to peace and stability in Afghanistan is a great injustice. Any attempt to shift the blame for the disastrous impacts of the West’s invasion of that country and infliction of a devastating brutal war on Afghans is not justifiable.