TEHERAN (TASS): The Iranian side is ready to facilitate negotiations bet-ween the various parties in Afghanistan to establish peace in that country. This was stated by Iranian Fo-reign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during talks with UN Secretary Gene-ral’s Special Envoy Antonio Guterres for Afghanistan Jean Arnault, which were held in Tehran on Sunday.
“The Iranian Foreign Minister announced Iran’s readiness to help and facilitate negotiations between the parties in Afghanistan with the aim of advancing the peace process in this country and resolving Afghan problems exclusively through an intra-Afghan dialogue,” the press service of the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
According to Zarif, one of the most important reasons for the current situation in Afghanistan “is the erroneous policy of foreign forces.” “The international community must know the clear position [of Tehran] supporting a political solution to the crisis in Afghanistan and condemning the violence and its consequences,” he added.
In turn, Arnault “reaffirmed the importance of the role of Iran and other regional powers in facilitating the peace process in Afghanistan.”
“Not a single country or group of states could solve the Afghan problem alone, and exclusively comprehensive cooperation can reduce the severity of the situation in Afghanistan,” he said.
On April 14, US President Joe Biden announced his decision to end the operation in Afghanistan, which became the longest overseas military campaign in American history. Against this background, the Islamic republic is witnessing a deterioration in the security situation due to the fact that the Taliban (banned in the Russian Federation) militants are stepping up their offensive in a number of directions. According to the representatives of the movement, the Taliban managed to establish control over about 85% of the country’s territory, including areas along the border with five states: Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
IRNA adds: The real political powers are those such as Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) who are powerful at the fields, an Iranian top general says.
Major General Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said in a meeting with the head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd al-Shaabi) Falih al-Fayyadh that the PMU is extraordinary in military fields.
The two officials held talks on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran.
Salami described the presence of both Iraqi president and the head of the PMU in Tehran as an important message, praising the strategic role of the PMU in Iraq’s triumph against Daesh terrorists.
The downfall of the United States at international level has happened in Iraq, the commander stated, noting that the Resistance has weakened the US military force in Iraq; Americans have an option now: if they leave Iraq, they have failed and if they stay, they will be hurt.
Pointing to the importance of going ahead with the confrontation against the American invaders in Iraq, he stipulated that the Islamic Republic will support the Iraqis’ attempt to push out the American invaders from their country.
Falih al-Fayyadh, for his turn, said that Martyr General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC, along with Martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi, are inspiring figures for the PMU.
The enemy thought that their martyrdom would be big blow to the PMU, but the Iraqi parliament’s decision to urge withdrawal of American forces from Iraq is a significant result following the event, Fayyadh noted.
The PMU chief went on to say that the Iraqi resistance movement is proud of the pattern of the IRGC with such a revolutionary characteristic.
