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Hassan Rouhani

TEHRAN. — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai in Tehran yesterday voiced his concern about the presence of foreign forces in the region, specially in Afghanistan.“We are concerned about the tensions arising from the presence of foreign forces in the region and believe that all foreign forces should exit the region and (control of) Afghanistan’s security should be ceded to the people of that country,” President Rouhani said.

The president reiterated that Iran is against the presence of any foreign army in the region, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region. The Afghan president, for his part, congratulated President Rouhani on the recent agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany), and said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always treated its brotherly neighbour, Afghanistan, with complete honesty and it has clearly spoken out its stances, and the Afghan government and people have always looked at Iran in a respectful manner.”

At the end of the meeting, the two presidents issued a joint statement assigning their foreign ministers to prepare a comprehensive cooperation and friendship pact.

The agreement ensures the long-term interests of Iran and Afghanistan with respect to the regional peace and security. The Afghan president, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Tehran yesterday and was welcomed by Vice-President Mohammad Shariatmadari upon arrival at Mehrabad airport. — Fars News Agency.