Tabnak – The American peace initiative for Afghanistan hit a dead-end last week, with US President Donald Trump announcing the halt of talks between Washington and Taliban. Now the Islamic Republic warns of new foreign plot for triggering bloodshed in Afghanistan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has cautioned the Afghan warring parties against a plot that outsiders are hatching to trigger a new round of carnage across Afghanistan.
In comments on Sunday, Zarif voiced concern about the current circumstances in Afghanistan, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is warning that the aliens and aggressors may take advantage of the new situation in that country (Afghanistan) to launch a new round of slaughter and bloodshed in Afghanistan.”
“From our viewpoint, the invaders and occupiers must concede defeat and leave Afghanistan as soon as possible,” the Iranian foreign minister underlined.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran asks the whole (Afghan) warring parties to exercise self-restraint, abandon fratricide, and seriously avoid shedding the blood of innocent civilians until the achievement of a lasting ceasefire agreement and national reconciliation,” he added.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty, stresses the need for the whole Afghan people to own and direct any peace process, and is prepared to hold consultations and negotiations with all warring sides in Afghanistan under a regional initiative along with the neighbors, as well as the Afghan government and all Afghan groups in order to prevent the shedding of innocent blood and facilitate the achievement of a sustainable deal,” Zarif noted.
He finally pledged that Tehran would spare no “sincere and evenhanded effort” to help resolve the Afghan conflicts.
Zarif remarks come while the Taliban has condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend the ongoing talks with the group to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan as an "anti-peace" move.
"Now that US President Trump has announced the suspension of negotiations... this would not harm anyone else but the Americans themselves," the group said in a statement on Sunday.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Trump said he was calling off secret meetings scheduled for Sunday with Taliban representatives and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at Camp David in Maryland, US.
Citing a Taliban attack in Kabul last week in which 12 people, including a US soldier, were killed as the reason, Trump also cancelled the US-Taliban negotiations ongoing in Qatar for nearly a year.
The Taliban said the cancellation of talks would "lead to more losses for the US", "harm (its) credibility" and "show their anti-peace stance in (a) more clear way", Al Jazeera reported.
"Our struggle for the past 18 years... will continue until the foreign occupation is finished and the Afghans are given a chance to live by their own choice," said the statement.
The Taliban said the US negotiating team was "happy with the progress made so far" in Doha and the talks were held "in a good atmosphere".
"We had fruitful discussions with the US negotiating team and the agreement was finalized," said the statement.
The Taliban said it had even set September 23 as the inaugural day of another round of inter-Afghan dialogue in the hope that a deal with the US would be reached before that date.
