The longtime hostility between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran is spilling over to some third party relations. Since the very first days following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, they have been battling over certain domestic, regional and global issues. The trend of conflicts has indicated a sharply worsening course. And thus, the rivalries have increasingly affected other parts of the region where both the United States and Iran are present politically and economically. Iran has been making strong efforts to prevent US's presence near its borders. Due to this, Afghanistan has been facing enormous troubles. Following US's presence in Afghanistan after ouster of Taliban from power, the Islamic Republic has been pushing for a costly defeat of the United States in Afghanistan or a rapid pullout. Researchers have frequently warned over the damaging outcomes of Iran's interference in the country to counteract US military presence.

Alike Afghanistan, Iraq experienced huge meddling by its neighbor that led into culmination of instability and violence in Iraq during 2006 and 2007. In Iraq, it backed Shi'ite militias who formed an important part of the insurgency. It later pressed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to oust US forces, though he did allow US training missions and oil companies to remain. Efforts to oust the US from Afghanistan have been unsuccessful. Iran arms the Taliban with a modicum of weapons, mainly as a reminder to the US that these supplies could increase sharply in the event of attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. The recent US-Afghan strategic partnership, which calls for a US presence for ten years, was very much opposed in Tehran. It tried its best to use its influence to reject the agreement in parliament. But it was unsuccessful but Iran has another, more long-term way to counter US interests in the region.

Upset by the US-Afghan strategic agreement, Iran has threatened to expel from its territory tens of thousands of Afghan refugees, many of whom have been there since the Russian war in the 1980's. This will not have much effect and it likely reflects the wrath of the politically-ascendant Revolutionary Guard Corps rather than a cautious plan from other parts of the Iranian state. Experts believe that millions of refugees in Iran are used as political leverage. Iran has time and again pressured its war-torn neighbor Afghanistan to make it abide by its demands. Their demands have been mostly against the long term interests of Afghanistan and those of the international community. Our western neighbor has openly threatened Afghanistan by mass expulsion of Afghan refugees living there. Iranian government successfully uses the refugee issue to increase its leverage over Hamid Karzai's government in Afghanistan.

With the recent political developments in Afghanistan and the world level, the Islamic Republic is feeling more isolated. Whenever Afghanistan's policies displease Tehran, the Iranian government threatens to expel Afghans living in Iran. Tehran understands that the fragile Afghan government lacks the capacity to absorb a large number of returnees under current security and economic conditions. At times, it has dumped thousands of Afghans into lawless areas in western Afghanistan without advance coordination with either Afghan authorities or international organizations. This politically-provoked move has nearly led to humanitarian crisis, worsened security situation and created a political turmoil in Kabul.

Moreover, government policies have deliberately promoted sense of public hostility against Afghans living in Iran. Afghan refugees have been suffering from a large scale government-imposed limitations. They are facing limitations in travelling, working, living places and education. They can't travel from one city to another. They can't access certain basic goods at market since Iranian regimes have prevented giving them to Afghans let alone owning properties. The government of Ahmadinejad has been increasing the number of Afghan Free Provinces. At the most recent case, Iran's National Organization for Educational Testing issued a list of university courses which prohibits Afghan refugees to study. A spokesman for the Afghan embassy in Iran Mohammad Dehqani had said that banned universities are not only for Afghan refugees but for all foreign nationals living in Iran. Meanwhile, Nader Farhard, UNCHR commissioner believes that Iran should provide other facilities such as good living conditions, employment opportunities and education for kids and so on.

The increasing pressures on Afghan refugees are actually meant to pressurize Kabul to change some of its policies according to Iran's interests. For instance, Iran's new ambassador to Kabul recently warned Afghan Speaker of Senate against approving the US-Afghan Strategic Agreement. AbulFazlZohrawand had said Iran would embark on a mass deportation of Afghan refugees if Afghan parliament Okayed the agreement. With the security situation in Afghanistan at its nadir since the fall of the Taliban and economic-development and job-creation efforts faltering, Iranian leaders correctly calculate that a fragile Afghanistan cannot absorb the over 2 million Afghans living in Iran.

With its increasingly tense relation with the world community over its nuclear program, Iran tries to make use of its possible means in Afghanistan to challenge the US and its allies. Unlike everyone's expectation and the promising announcements by Iranian and European delegation in the bilateral nuclear talks, they are failing to reach an agreement. The IAEA is also disappointed of nuclear talks with Iran because it has just helped the Iran's continued time buying strategy. The UN nuclear watchdog and Iran failed Friday to agree a deal allowing greater access to Tehran's contested nuclear program, a setback as world powers prepare for crucial talks in Moscow. "There has been no progress," IAEA chief inspector Herman Nackaerts announced late Friday after all-day talks with Iran's envoy to the agency Ali AsgharSoltanieh and IAEA deputy director general Rafael Grossi. "This is disappointing," he said, reading out a prepared statement at a joint briefing with the Iranian ambassador.

On the other hand, Iran's traditional allies are making struggles to make it abide by certain international demands and take further steps to address general concerns over its nuclear program. Chinese state Xinhua news agency said Friday that China's President Hu Jintao called on his Iranian counterpart to be "flexible and pragmatic" ahead of talks on Tehran's nuclear program. Hu also urged Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to cooperate with the UN nuclear agency, as the two leaders held talks in Beijing ahead of the next round of talks between world powers and Iranian negotiators to try to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program. China hopes Iran can "take a flexible and pragmatic approach, have serious talks with all six related nations, and enhance dialogues and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency so as to ensure the tensions can be eased through negotiations", Xinhua quoted Hu as saying.

A close link is seen between how the Afghan government approaches the world community's presence here on one hand and Iran's friendly or hostile attitude on the other. To avoid pressures and sabotaging measures by Iran, Karzai administration has been maintaining a close tie with the Islamic Republic. Reports had previously disclosed that the country is investing on certain anti-US politicians in Afghanistan. The presidential palace was also said to have received huge amounts of money directly from Iranian sources. US officials did not demonstrate their concerns on how President Karzai's administration is dealing with pro-Iranian figures here and their influencing policies. But they have expressed concerns on Iran's continued meddling in the war-torn Afghanistan.