Explicit and implicit opposition to the US-Afghan strategic pact was expected before presidents of the two nations inked it. The long battle in Afghanistan is believed to be fueled by regional and international actors who have defined their interests in the lasting conflict in Afghanistan to defeat their rivals. Iran's strategic interests require the country to strongly lobby for immediate withdrawal of the international forces.
This will provide enough space for Iran and other neighboring and regional countries to easily maneuver here. To ensure sustainability of the democratization process in Afghanistan and avoid return of the expected chaos and disorder following NATO forces' withdrawal, President Karzai's administration started establishing strategic ties with world and regional democracies. The overall move, especially the strategic partnership with the United States, is widely welcomed by Afghans but raised severe wrath of the Iranians.
In an undiplomatic move, Iran's new ambassador to Afghanistan in a meeting with the Afghan Senate speaker asked the upper house to reject the US-Afghan strategic partnership pact. It has raised widespread anger among Afghan MPs, political parties, media and the people. However, President Karzai's government has remained silent so far.
The ambassador, Abdul Fazl Zuhrawand reportedly called the agreement a threat to the interests of other countries in the region, such as Russia, China, and India, as well as Iran. Prior to that, on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast expressed concern that the Pact may destabilize the region and called on the US to withdraw from Afghanistan immediately.
Introducing the usual leverage Iran has at hand, the ambassador threatened to expel millions of Afghan refugees from Iran if the Pact was approved by the Afghan Parliament, a threat rejected by the senators at the meeting. Afghan legislators denounced 'interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs' and called for the ambassador's sacking.
Relations between Afghanistan and Iran have been strained by Kabul's strategic pact with the United States, Afghan officials have showed concerns regarding the attitude of Iran, charging that Tehran has harassed Afghan diplomats in recent weeks. AFP quoted a senior government official saying that Afghan diplomats in the Iranian capital Tehran have been "constantly intimidated" since the deal with the United States was signed. "They are being chased by Iranian security forces all over the place.
Their movements have been restricted," the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The report added: "Foreign ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai acknowledged "problems" faced by Afghan embassy staff in Tehran, saying his ministry was investigating the situation. 'The problem is not posing any danger to our (embassy) staff there,' Mosazai told AFP, but refused to provide further details. He said his ministry was in talks with Tehran to solve the problem".
However, Iran's envoy to Afghanistan has dismissed the claims. Iran's state-run English Press TV said Wednesday, "Iran's Ambassador to Kabul Abolfazl Zohrevand on Tuesday rejected the allegations and said, "Such propaganda is spread by the Americans and those who advocate this agreement". The Source said, "Since Monday, a number of Afghan Senate members and media outlets have claimed that Zohrevand met Afghan Senate Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar to urge the upper house of the Afghan parliament not to approve the cooperation agreement. 'At that meeting, we merely conveyed Iran's concern over the strategic pact with the US to the Afghan officials,' Zohrevand added". The TV said, "Meanwhile, the Afghan Senate speaker has also refuted the allegations against Iran and insisted that the Iranian ambassador has not called for scraping the agreement".
Experts say trust between Afghanistan and Iran has reached its lowest level since the 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime. An Afghan official told AFP, "Tehran's new envoy, Abolfazl Zohrehvand, who submitted his credentials to Karzai late last month, "is very arrogant — he behaved very undiplomatically". In another indication that ties are souring between the two countries, an Afghan security official told AFP that an Afghan journalist working for an Iranian news agency had been arrested as an alleged spy.
The National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's main intelligence agency accuses the Afghan reporter of spying for Iran, the official told AFP. "We have hard evidence that he was passing on classified government documents to the Iranian embassy," the official said.
The need to establish strategic partnership with regional and world democracies was felt long ago when the US and Afghan governments asserted that regional rivalries would impact the reconstruction and democratization processes in Afghanistan. They stress that they are fighting forces that are provided safe havens outside of Afghanistan and are trained and armed by regional sources. Afghanistan has regularly asked international community and the regional actors to leave aside their personal rivalries when dealing with the terrorism scourge in Afghanistan.
With the US-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement signed, Afghanistan has taken a good step at establishing protective measures against foreign interferences in the country once international troops will have left Afghanistan.
The agreement is time-scheduled for ten years and is dependent on parliamentary approval. Putting aside its importance for Afghanistan, the region will be affected or, at least, will respond with more diverse reactions. For this, there are grave concerns whether the partnership will survive under intense regional oppositions or not. As stipulated in the document, the partnership is aimed at ensuring political, economic and military security of the country. Following official signing ceremony, President Karzai said the partnership was aimed at improving Afghanistan's and regional security and economic status and would never harm the region or any specific neighboring country. But oppositions continue.
The strategic partnership agreement covers relations between Washington and Kabul for 10 years after most US troops pull out of the country in 2014, leaving the fight against Taliban to Afghan security forces. It states that the United States will not use its presence in Afghanistan to launch offensive actions against neighboring states. Iran says that US's military presence in the region will destabilize it.
However, not all regional powers share agreement on this. Russia, China, India and other countries are afraid of return of the chaos following full exit of the US forces from Afghanistan by end of 2014. Moreover, details of the number of US troops who may remain in the country after 2014, and their status, are yet to be worked out in a separate security pact.
The document says that Afghanistan and the United States will be cooperating in areas including: advancing peace, security and reconciliation; strengthening state institutions; supporting Afghanistan's long term economic and social development; and encouraging regional cooperation.
Accordingly, no regional concerns are apparently understandable. But because regional actors are more concerned over their long term interests at the regional and world level, Afghanistan and the US won't feel easy applying the agreement. Regional competitions will remain affecting foreign policies of the regional players.
The competitions have never been initiated because of Afghanistan and will never be addressed by US abandoning this country. Opposition calls against US-Afghan strategic partnership are rooted in wishes for a wider area of rivalry rather than concerns over security of the region.
The countries lobbying for disapproval or failure of the US-Afghanistan Strategic Agreement shall know that a stable, developed and democrat Afghanistan would better serve their purposes for a secure, prosperous and developed region rather than a conflicted, poor and instable country. To pursue the collective goal of a developed, secure and democrat region, Iran needs not to serve as the 'axis of evil'. After all, the whole region will be sharing the same boat.