International
Iran adopting kid-glove approach to Afghanistan http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=newafghanistan&slug=Iran+for+kid%2Dglove+approach+to+Afghanistan&id=97238&callid=1
Friday, December 1, 2006 (Herat, Afghanistan):
>From cheap ice cream to 24-hour electricity, Iran is strengthening economic
ties with western Afghanistan that could undermine support for US and NATO
forces.
Western Afghanistan has a newly paved 120-kilometer stretch of highway between the Iranian border and its main city, Herat, courtesy of the Islamic republic.
Iran is also considering building a rail line on the busy route, and has pledged another US$560 million to help rebuild Afghan infrastructure and businesses.
"Iran is not going away from here," a Herat-based Western diplomat said. "The question is whether we can coexist in this region together and realize that some of our aims might even be the same when it comes to Afghanistan."
Tehran has built 10 schools and built several clinics in western Afghanistan, and paid for the equipment to provide electricity 24 hours a day in Herat, unlike in most other parts of the country, including the capital, Kabul.
Iranian influence here dates back to ancient times and, while dependent on US military and financial support, the Afghan government tries not to antagonise Iran, which currently houses about 2 million Afghan refugees.
"Our hope is for Afghanistan to be peaceful and stable because that would be good for the region," said an Iranian diplomat in Kabul, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Everyone wants a stable neighbor."
If Iran and the United States are at odds, Defense Ministry spokesman Gen Zahir Azimi said, "we will stay out of it."
Local political analyst Mohammed Rafiq Shaeir says Iran wants greater influence in western Afghanistan to promote its own national interests, both security and economic. (AP)