Iran president: Foreign presence only foments insecurity, tension among regional countries

Tehran, SAEDNEWS: Raeisi made the remarks in a Monday meeting with the visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, during which the two sides discussed expansion of bilateral relations, especially in the areas of trade and economy.

Emphasizing Iran’s view that regional countries are capable of solving their problems free from any foreign interference, Iran’s president said, “The presence of foreigners has no result, but insecurity and tension among regional nations and governments.”

“The twenty-year presence of the United States in Afghanistan had no result, but murder and bloodshed, and it became clear that the problems of Afghanistan can be only solved by its people and through assistance of neighboring countries,” Raeisi noted.

Iran's chief executive said acts of terrorism committed by Daesh Takfiri terrorist group are to the detriment of all regional countries.

"As American officials have admitted, they have created Daesh and, naturally, this outfit moves on the order of Americans and commits acts of massacre and bloodshed in various countries as a US proxy," Iran's president said.

In recent years, the Daesh terrorist group, a rival to the Taliban, has established a foothold in eastern and northern Afghanistan, particularly in Nangarhar, which is considered the heartland of Afghanistan's Takfiri group. It has targeted Shia mosques in a series of terrorist bombings which have killed scores of worshippers.

Analysts believe the United States has hatched a plot to use Daesh to make Afghanistan unsafe for its people and neighbors.

More than 60 people were killed and over 80 others wounded in three back-to-back explosions that hit the Bibi Fatima mosque during Friday prayers on October 15, one of the biggest blasts in Kandahar. The Daesh-K, the Afghan branch of the Takfiri terrorist outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack. It came just a week after a bomb attack killed more than 150 people and left scores of others injured at a Shia mosque in the northeastern city of Kunduz.

Earlier this month, Daesh also claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing attack on a military hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul that left at least 25 people dead and more than twice as many injured.

The ongoing violence after the Taliban takeover in August has plunged Afghanistan into a dire situation. Afghanistan is facing many challenges, with experts calling for urgent international action to support millions of people struggling with rising hunger and the collapse of services, which risk generating a much bigger humanitarian crisis.

Taliban’s reassuming of power came in the wake of the withdrawal of US and foreign forces from Afghanistan. Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also fled the country and the power vacuum gave rise to the recurrence of tensions and Daesh taking advantage of the chaos.

"Iran, Turkey should elevate cooperation to international level"

Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi noted that close relations between Tehran and Ankara will benefit peace and stability across the region.

"Regional cooperation between the two countries must be elevated to international level as such interactions, in view of the important positions of the two countries, can affect global equations," Iran's president said.

Pointing to the Turkish foreign minister's remarks about joint cooperation with Iran to establish stability and develop trade in the South Caucasus region, Raeisi said the Islamic Republic has deep-rooted and long-standing religious and cultural bonds with Azerbaijan and Turkey beyond simple neighborly relations.

"We should not allow certain moves by foreigners to undermine [our] relations," Raeisi pointed out.

The Turkish foreign minister, for his part, said Ankara seeks to accelerate development of ties with Iran.

Cavusoglu said Turkey believes that the new Iranian administration is a result-oriented administration, adding that Ankara is determined to further increase cooperation with Tehran.