Hamed Karzai, who was speaking at a session of Iran-Afghanistan ties at Strategic Center of Foreign Relations in Tehran, reaffirmed that fighting terrorism is not a concern for US.

“ISIL is a foreign phenomenon with forces trained abroad and aims set by foreigners; it’s absolutely not originated from Afghanistan,” Karzai said emphasizing that he considers interaction with Taliban possible and necessary for sustainable peace in Afghanistan; “yet it should be done without any foreign intervention.”

Noting Kabul-Tehran ties, Afghan official stressed the shared history, culture and language and appreciated Iran’s role in supporting the country; “Iran has been a pioneer in supporting Afghanistan and paved the way for Afghanistan and Pakistan negotiations to reduce the effects of US intervention in the country; Iran has also been very helpful in financing Afghanistan’s reconstruction projects, has granted many scholarships to the young Afghan generation to educate them and has supported Afghan refugees.”

“Although international communities have aided my country at large, but Afghanistan suffers from lack of security; the issue has to settle down and this needs cooperation of neighboring countries including Iran, India, China and Russia,” Karzai said, adding “in domestic issues elections are indeed a necessity to restore the national sovereignty to the country as Afghanistan doesn’t want to live under the shadow of the world powers and its people are the ones who should decide their future.”

On four-way Afghan peace talks in Oman, former president expressed hope for positive results and more inclusive talks on Afghanistan with participation of Iran and Russia.