The Iranian regime’s foreign ministry on Tuesday asked Afghanistan not to sign a security deal with the U.S. that could keep thousands of American and allied forces in that country for another decade.
The request comes ahead of a visit to Iran next week by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has endorsed the deal but introduced new conditions before approving it and deferred its signature to his successor in next April’s elections.
The Iranian regime ministry spokesperson said the regime “does not consider the signing and approval of the pact useful for the long term expedience and interests of Afghanistan.”
The ministry spokesperson added that “we think approval and implementation of the deal will have negative effects on the trend of regional issues.”
Iran and Afghanistan have about 945 kilometers (580 miles) of joint borders.
Source: The Associated Press
