US responsible for suffering, pain of Afghan people: Iran

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the United States is responsible for the suffering and pain of the Afghan people, calling for an inclusive government to be established in the country.

Iran’s top diplomat made the remarks in a Thursday meeting with the visiting Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Tehran as the two sides discussed bilateral relations and the ongoing situation in Afghanistan.

“The United States is responsible for the pain and suffering of the people of Afghanistan,” Iran’s foreign minister said.

Amir-Abdollahian added, “The current situation could only lead to stability through the establishment of an inclusive government representing all Afghan groups.”

He also underlined Iran’s stance on the necessity of strengthening dialog among regional countries.

For his part, Al Thani conveyed top Qatari officials’ greetings and wished success for Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raeisi, and his administration.

Qatar has been acting as a mediator between different groups as the situation in Afghanistan unraveled. The Persian Gulf country hosted talks between the US and the Taliban that concluded in 2020 with a US troop withdrawal agreement.

During their meeting, the two foreign ministers also discussed bilateral issues, including the need to accelerate the issuance of business visas and facilitate the travels of traders and the private sector.

20-year US war in Afghanistan was a complete failure: Report

The humiliation of the lightning Taliban takeover in Afghanistan after a 20-year war by US and NATO forces that cost hundreds of thousands of lives and at least a trillion dollars has dismayed Western veterans of the war.

Similarly, in the US, many military veterans who fought in the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan have expressed disgust at American politicians who launched and supported the conflicts in those two nations, saying the US "lost the war" and the blood and money spent there was wasted.

Afghanistan has been a haunted battlefield for the world’s fiercest armies, from Alexander the Great in the third century BC to Americans in the 21st century. It has also been the graveyard of superpowers, namely the former Soviet Union and the British Empire.

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