For Help in Afghanistan, US Should Look to Iran

These days, Iran’s neighbors, the region generally referred to as the Middle East, are experiencing unrest. Within this region, one of the focal points of international politics in recent years has been Afghanistan. A U.S. publication has undertaken an analysis of Afghanistan’s prospects for a stable future and Iran’s role in that regard.

According to an article in the Tabnak news site examining Iran’s role and influence in Afghanistan, the American publication Foreign Policy writes that over the years, and especially in the last few weeks following clashes in Iraq, much attention has been paid to Iran’s role in Iraq. However, the same level of attention has not been given to Iran’s role in its other neighboring country, Afghanistan.

The article can be summarized as follows: in the West, it is most commonly said that Iran’s role in Afghanistan is a damaging and destabilizing one. American officials and NATO have accused Iran of providing weapons to the Taliban. In 2007 and 2011, international forces stationed in Afghanistan claimed that they had intercepted shipments of Iranian weapons that were on their way to the Taliban. Following that incident, several articles were published regarding the detrimental role of Iran in Afghanistan.

Despite all this, the role that Iran plays in Afghanistan is, in practice, quite constructive. Iranian and American interests in Afghanistan are to a large extent aligned, particularly in regard to establishing stability in the country. After American forces leave Afghanistan, Iran could help promote these joint interests, especially if the process of improving relations between Tehran and Washington continues.

In reality, Iran has come to the United States’ aid several times in Afghanistan thus far. During the Bonn Conference in 2001, it was Iran that helped to form the first government in Afghanistan after the Taliban. James Dobbins, the American representative at the Bonn Conference, made reference to the way Mohammad Javad Zarif, the current Iranian Foreign Minister, persuaded Afghanistan to accept the proposed governmental structure.

Tehran and Washington have also cooperated in opposing the Taliban and al-Qaida. In the first years after international forces entered Afghanistan in 2001, Iran captured a group of al-Qaida leaders who had fled within its borders, and put all its maps showing Taliban positions in Afghanistan at the disposal of the Americans.

In addition, Iran was also prepared to take on responsibility for training 20,000 Afghan troops. In 2003, Iran proposed a series of comprehensive meetings with the U.S., in which the issue of Afghanistan was to be discussed. However, this suggestion met with opposition from George W. Bush, the president of the United States at the time. This cooperation should not surprise us. When the issue of Afghanistan is at stake, Tehran and Washington are prepared to engage in direct talks to consider a number of factors, including the Taliban.

In 1998, Taliban forces killed nine Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif. Iran mobilized 200,000 troops and put them on standby at the Afghan border. A war almost began over the killings. Thus, it is no surprise that Iran — which never officially recognized the Taliban government — should oppose the group gaining power. This anti-Taliban outlook has remained unchanged to this very day.

In this context, the issue of illicit substances is often brought to the fore. The Taliban’s rise to power has been largely dependent on income generated by the sale of illegal drugs, the markets for which are usually in Iran. This issue only exacerbates the existing drug crisis in Iran.

Several definitive pieces of evidence exist to support the conclusion that Iran is seeking stability in Afghanistan. Greater instability will only lead to an increase in drug smuggling activity. Moreover, such a situation would result in an intensification of the wave of Afghan citizens immigrating to Iran. Another worrying factor for Iran is that instability in Afghanistan would give more power to anti-Shiite extremist groups in that country and in neighboring countries.

From another perspective, Iran and America both welcome the idea of greater Afghan affinity to South and Central Asia. Iran has been seeking to install roads, pipelines and advance commercial projects that will establish better relationships among the governments of Central Asian nations. At the same time, America has been pursuing its own “New Silk Road” strategy, which would establish Afghanistan as a regional trade and transit hub.

In any case, on the basis of these links and others between Iran and Afghanistan, including cultural and religious ties, Iran could turn out to be a major player in Afghanistan after American forces make their exit. At the same time, countries like China do not enjoy the same status in Afghanistan. Pakistan does not have good relations with Kabul, and India, despite improving relations, will refrain from significant involvement in the country due to several considerations. Iran, however, will be quite active in Afghanistan, both from a political and economic standpoint.

Some of these factors require that more attention be paid to Iran’s role in the future of Afghanistan. By virtue of these overlapping concerns, and Iran’s interest in securing a stable Afghanistan, the United States has the opportunity to work in conjunction with Iran, and as such guarantee its own interests in the country.