Context
Afghan President Hamid Karzai held a meeting with Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmed Vahidi in Kabul on Sunday. Vahidi said during the meeting that regional and national solutions were more feasible than trans-regional ones for bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan. “A major part of the insecurity in the Middle East stems from the presence of trans-regional forces that have disturbed peace in the region to provide their own illegitimate security,” he added. Karzai appreciated Tehran’s support for Kabul during the last three decades and called for continued cooperation between the two countries in reconstructing Afghanistan and strengthening security there. Vahidi arrived in Kabul on an official trip Saturday and is due to meet top Afghan military and political officials.
