Iran Tracker

Reaction to June 2009 Iranian Presidential Election:

Following the June 2009 Iranian presidential election, Afghan President Hamid Karzai congratulated the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on his re-election, saying that relations have significantly expanded during the course of Ahmadinejad's first term. Karzai characterized Ahmadinejad's victory as "a suitable selection."[1] 

Nuclear:

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has stated in July 2008 that Afghanistan will not allow its territory to be used in any outside conflicts and has reiterated that Kabul has friendly relations with both the United States and Iran.[2]  Karzai reiterated that "Afghanistan does not want its soil to be used against any country and Afghanistan wants to be a friend of Iran as a neighbor which shares the same language and religion."[3]

Afghanistan is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, which released a statement in July 2008, stating that the member states “welcomed the continuing cooperation being extended by the Islamic Republic of Iran to the IAEA” and “reaffirmed that states’ choices and decisions, including those of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear technology and its fuel cycle policies must be respected.”[4] [Click here for more information on the non-Aligned Movement.]

Economic Relationship:

Iran has worked to play an active role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan since 2001. Iran initially pledged $570 million in 2002 to the reconstruction and paid the final installment in March 2006; Tehran then pledged an additional $100 million in aid at the Conference on Afghan Reconstruction in February 2006.[5] These contributions have made Iran one of the largest donor states to its neighbor’s reconstruction since the beginning of the American invasion of Afghanistan. Beyond the massive reconstruction contributions, Iran has also worked bilaterally with the Afghan government to build roads and rail lines to increase cross-border transportation. [6] During a June 2009 meeting between Iranian Minister of Commerce Masoud Mir Kazemi and Afghan Minister of Commerce Wahidullah Shahrani, Mir Kazemi stressed that “Iran is keen to expand its trade, economic and industrial ties with Afghanistan." During the same June 2009 meeting, Shahrani expressed support for a preferential tariff agreement between the two countries.[7]     

Diplomatic/Military Relationship:

As neighbors, Afghanistan and Iran have had significant ties since before Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979. Most recently, since the creation of the Afghan interim government in 2001, Afghanistan and Iran have been increasing diplomatic ties between Tehran and the new government in Kabul. Iranian Fars News Agency reported in June 2008 that Afghanistan’s Vice President Mohammed Karim Khalili stated that his government also hoped to increase cultural cooperation.[8] In June 2009, Iranian cabinet ministers approved an Iran-Afghanistan mutual security cooperation bill, which calls on Iran and Afghanistan to cooperate with each other to fulfill common national and international agreements.[9]

Despite such security agreements, narcotics smuggling remains a major issue for the two countries. According to 2006 United Nations estimates, sixty percent of Afghanistan’s opium is trafficked through the Iran-Afghan border. As a result, on July 24, 2009, Iranian Police Chief Esma'il Ahmadi-Moqaddam announced that Tehran would allocate more than $150 million to increase border security.[10] Iranian plans for the border include the construction of a cemented barrier separating the two countries, allowing Tehran to completely close the border by March 2010.  In August 2009 Afghan Foreign Ministry’s Director of Border Issues Abdol Wahab Aryan indicated that such a wall would be unacceptable to Afghanistan, however.[11]

Although disagreements over handling of border security persist, the two countries have increased operational cooperation. In July 2009, Iran and Afghanistan began conducting joint patrols along their common border. According to the commander of the Afghan border police, General Molhem, the operation aimed to reduce drug trafficking and terrorist activity ahead of the Afghan presidential election on August 20, 2009.[12] American Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke stated in August 2009 that it “doesn't make much sense” to ignore Tehran when considering regional issues. He stressed that Iran has "legitimate role to play in the resolution of the Afghan issue," and indicated support for the Islamic Republic’s concerns regarding trafficking.[13]

Iran has blamed ongoing narcotics trafficking on NATO forces operating in Afghanistan, however, saying that the alliance has failed to acceptably combat production and smuggling of opium. In an August 2009 speech, Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Fada Hoseyn Maleki claimed that the United States and United Kingdom have been disgraced by their failure to “achieve any satisfactory results from their operations and strategies in Afghanistan.” The ambassador went on to state that if NATO forces continues to “shirk their responsibilities,” Iran will be forced to “review [its] decisions.” In the same speech, Maleki called plans for the deployment of additional NATO forces to Afghanistan a mistake and implied that the West was “trying to postpone the election…[by] pretend[ing] that Afghanistan is insecure”.[14]             

Tehran and Kabul have also taken significant steps to expand cultural ties. In June 2009, the Afghan Ministry of Hajj and Endowment and Iranian Jamet Al-Mostafa Al-Halemya signed a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to cooperate on religious matters, including organization of hajj and establishment of programs promoting Islamic culture and education.[15] In July 2009, Iran announced plans to construct a printing house and cultural chamber in Kabul.[16] Iranian publishing houses will also begin publishing textbooks to be used in Afghan schools. According to an August 2009 interview with the director of the Printing Office of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Iran aims to expand the project to Tajikistan as well.[17]

In December 2009, former US commanding general in Afghanistan and current US ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, reported that Iran has been aiding both sides of the conflict in Afghanistan.  Despite cooperating with the Afghan government and military forces, the Islamic Republic or elements within the government have reportedly been provided low-level training and material assistance to the Taliban.[18] Shia Iran has historically had bad relations with the extremist Sunni Taliban, yet recent intelligence suggests that Iran is involved on both sides of the Afghan conflict so as to maintain a weak government in Kabul.[19]

Rumors of tension between Kabul and Tehran surrounded London’s January 2010 conference on Afghanistan. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, released a statement on the conference saying "since the conference seeks only to increase military presence in Afghanistan, and does not deal fundamentally with Afghan woes nor count on regional capacities to resolve the problems, the Islamic Republic of Iran believes its presence in the conference would be of no help and it does not view as constructive the continuation of past erroneous approaches for Afghanistan.” [20] Meanwhile, Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Spanta denied any diplomatic tensions between the two Central Asian nations: “We have good relations with Iran. There is no problem between Iran and Afghanistan. Iran has cooperated with Afghanistan in the past eight years for its reconstruction.”[21] Spanta went on to say that leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tehran are scheduled to meet in Tehran in the first half of 2010 to discuss future cooperation.[22]

[Click here for more information on Iranian soft power in Afghanistan.]