Quds Force Commander: Iran Trying To Exclude Militarism as Solution for Afghanistan

By Staff, Agencies

A member of the Iranian Parliament reported that the Islamic Revolution Guard [IRG’s] Quds Force commander, Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani, said in a closed Parliament session that Iran is trying that the resolve of the Afghan issue not to be through war.

In an interview with Mehr News Agency, MP Ahmad Alireza Beigi explained the closed session of the Parliament which was held in the presence of the IRGC Quds Force commander on Tuesday morning discussed the latest developments in neighboring Afghanistan.

"According to General Ghaani, political and military experts analyze the US defeat in Afghanistan far more importantly than the US defeat in Vietnam," he said.

"The commander of the Quds Force believed that the incident took place after 20 years of US investment and the US presence in Afghanistan had nothing to do with 9/11, and Washington was determined to stay in Afghanistan after the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud," the MP added.

Alireza Beig went on to say, "General Ghaani stressed that the Islamic Republic monitors the developments in Afghanistan with a view to its national interests and is interested in the fate of Afghanistan, and for this reason, from the beginning of the Soviet Union's entry into Afghanistan, it [Iran] supported the people of this country as a religious duty."

"According to the commander, the United States spent $300 million a day in Afghanistan, and as the US president said 18 soldiers returning from Afghanistan commit suicide every day," he added.

"General Ghaani stressed that the security of Iran is important for us and the US plan is to engage Iran with the Sunni world, so the Islamic Republic must act in a way that the security of Iran is not compromised and the United States does not achieve its goals," the MP noted.

"According to the commander of the Quds Force, the Shias of Afghanistan are very important for the Islamic Republic, and Iran is trying that the resolve of the Afghan issue not to be through war, and all the tribes of Afghanistan to participate in governing the country," Alireza Beigi concluded.