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Ahmadinejad Kabul visit jolts the U.S.

— Photo: AFP

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) with his Afghan counterpart in Kabul on Tuesday.

Tehran: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday signalled his determination to counter U.S. global power by meeting his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, in a demonstration of growing Iranian influence in Afghanistan.

The visit — Mr Ahmadinejad’s first to Afghanistan, where the U.S., Britain and other Western powers are engaged in a bitter struggle with the Taliban — is certain to alarm the Bush administration, which accuses Tehran of destabilising its efforts and claims the Taliban is being armed with Iranian weapons.

The trip came just a week after Mr Karzai, a key U.S. ally, clashed publicly with Mr. Bush about the nature of Iran’s involvement.

Addressing a joint White House press conference last week, Mr Bush said: “I would be very cautious about whether or not the Iranian influence in Afghanistan is a positive force.”

Mr Karzai contradicted him by describing Iran as “a helper and a solution”. Departing from Tehran, Mr Ahmadinejad deepened the disagreement by saying his talks would cover establishing Afghanistan’s security and independence.

Describing Iran and Afghanistan as “two brother nations with common interests, cultures and histories”, he told reporters: “The present condition of the region demands more exchange and negotiations between Tehran and Kabul. In this trip economic cooperation, especially over Iran’s participation in Afghan development plans, will be discussed.” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

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