Iran-Afghanistan relations
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Iran and Afghanistan have had relations since Afghanistan was first founded as a nation.
[edit] Context
Afghanistan shares a long history with Iran, as the nation was once a part of ancient Persia. There are also deep ties in language and culture, as an eastern dialect of Persian, (Dari) is the dominant language of Afghanistan, especially in terms of education and business. Despite such close ties, Afghanistan's relations with Iran have fluctuated over the years, with periodic disputes over the water rights of the Helmand River as the main issue of contention.
[edit] Relations
Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which Iran opposed, relations deteriorated. The Iranian consulate in Herat closed, as did the Afghan consulate in Mashad. The Iranians complained of periodic border violations following the Soviet invasion. In 1985, they urged feuding Afghan Shi'a resistance groups to unite to oppose the Soviets. Iran supported the cause of the Afghan resistance and provided limited financial and military assistance to rebel leaders who pledged loyalty to the Iranian vision of Islamic revolution. Iran provides refuge to about 2 million Afghan refugees, though it has refused to accept more in recent years and, indeed, tried to force many to repatriate.
Following the emergence of the Taliban and their harsh treatment of Afghanistan's Shi'a minority, Iran stepped up assistance to the Northern Alliance. Relations with the Taliban deteriorated further in 1998 after Taliban forces seized the Iranian consulate in Mazari Sharif and executed Iranian diplomats.
Following this incident, Iran almost went to war with the Taliban regions of Afghanistan but intervention by the United Nations Security Council and the United States prevented an imminent Iranian invasion.
Since 2001, the new government has engaged in cordial relations with both Iran and the United States, even as relations between the two countries have grown strained due to American objections to Iran's nuclear program. However, Iran’s strained relations with the United States have not prevented Tehran from strengthening its economic and trade cooperation with Kabul. Iran was a key factor in the overthrow of the Taliban and has since helped revive Afghanistan's economy and infrastructure.
Iran has built roads, power transmission lines, and border stations, among other infrastructure projects which would better link the two nations. Furthermore, trade between the two nations has increased dramatically since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.
Colonel Christopher Langton, who heads the defense analysis department at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said Iran is an important country in the future reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, stating:
| “ | They are being closely linked by efforts against the Taliban in the past, but also because of the influence that Iran can bring there with the Hazara population [who, like Iranians, are Shi'a Muslims]. And in the development sector, there are already projects which Iran is involved in -- for instance, the road from Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf up through Afghanistan to Central Asia is a very, very important project for the future of Afghanistan," Langton said. "There is a whole list of political, economic, and security issues which connect Afghanistan and Iran. | ” |
