Iran's outspoken president on Wednesday accused the United States of playing a double game in Afghanistan and mocked the U.S. defense secretary during their overlapping visits to the country.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at arch foe the United States while paying his first visit to Afghanistan since he and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai were re-elected last year in controversial polls.
We do not see the presence of foreign military forces in Afghanistan as a solution for peace in Afghanistan
"We do not see the presence of foreign military forces in Afghanistan as a solution for peace in Afghanistan," Ahmadinejad told a joint news conference with Karzai.
The United States has spearheaded a major troop surge in a last-ditch bid to end an eight-year Taliban insurgency against more than 120,000 NATO and U.S.-led troops supporting Karzai's government.
His visit overlapped with one by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was in Afghanistan to review the surge of U.S. and NATO troops set to bring their numbers to 150,000 by August.
“A double game”
Why is it that those who say they want to fight terrorism are never successful? I think it is because they are the ones who are playing a double game
Gates said earlier in the week Iran was playing a "double game" in Afghanistan by being friendly to the government while trying to undermine the United States. He said on Wednesday he had passed those concerns on to Karzai.
"Our policy is full support for the Afghan people and Afghan government and reconstruction of Afghanistan and we will continue this support in the future," Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called on U.S.-led troops to leave Afghanistan, which has close ethnic and religious ties to Iran, while U.S. officials have long accused Iran of maintaining links to Islamist insurgents in Afghanistan.
"Why is it that those who say they want to fight terrorism are never successful? I think it is because they are the ones who are playing a double game," Ahmadinejad said.
"They are the ones who set the terrorists on their course and now they say: 'Now we want to fight them'. Well they cannot, it is impossible," he told a news conference with Karzai.
As if addressing Gates, he said: "What are you even doing in this area? You are from 10,000 km over there. Your country is on the other side of the world. What are you doing here? This is a serious question," he added.
Gates left Kabul shortly after Ahmadinejad landed. Before leaving he described the timing of the Iranian leader's visit as "clearly fodder for all conspiratorialists".
"We think Afghanistan should have good relations with all of its neighbors. But we also want all of Afghanistan's neighbors to play an up-front game when dealing with the government of Afghanistan," Gates told reporters.
Shortly before the news conference started, Afghan security guards anxiously collected half-empty bottles of mineral water from reporters. One said it was in order to prevent anyone from throwing the bottles at Ahmadinejad.
Enemies of Taliban
We think Afghanistan should have good relations with all of its neighbors. But we also want all of Afghanistan's neighbors to play an up-front game when dealing with the government of Afghanistan
Despite their rivalry, Washington and Tehran are both sworn enemies of the extremist Sunni Muslim Taliban militia, which ruled in Kabul from 1996 before being overthrown in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
Asked about regional countries turning Afghanistan into a battleground for proxy wars, Ahmadinejad said Iran plays no role in destabilizing Afghanistan.
"Iran has no role in Afghanistan's insecurity but stands beside Afghanistan's government and people for their security," he said.
On Wednesday, a rocket attack killed an Afghan soldier at a security post in Paktika, the eastern province which has become a flashpoint for a Taliban insurgency and which borders militant strongholds in Pakistan.
In the southern province of Helmand, three men were killed by a bomb blast in Marjah town, the focus of a massive offensive launched against Taliban militants last month by about 15,000 U.S., NATO and Afghan troops.
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