Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan, claimed that the unelected religious leadership in Iran is "afraid of the situation in Afghanistan and think what is emerging there, if it works - Western oriented, strong ties to the West, to the United States - is a problem for Iran potentially." Therefore, he argued, "they are establishing the basis for causing problems and in some cases they already are causing problems" in Afghanistan, a dispatch from AFP said on Friday.

It is not the first time Khalilzad makes baseless allegations against Iran. In the past two he made unfounded claims that were proven wrong later. In a nonsensical statement a few months ago, he said that Iran has issued a permission for the Taleban and Al-Qaeda leaders to transit Iran to other parts of the world. No one could believe his claims, for throughout the rule of the Taleban, Iran never recognized them and it is a clear fact that Iran was the first victim of the Taleban when they came to power. The militia martyred ten Iranian diplomats and a reporter in Mazar-i-Sharif on August 8. The Islamic Republic of Iran called for an arms embargo on the Taleban so the group changed their policies and accept the responsibility of their acts. But Khalilzad had accused Iran of cooperating with the Taleban.

Since the accusation was too absurd no one believed it.

Now seven months after the establishment of the transitional government in Afghanistan, and contrary to the very positive statements made by Hamid Karzai, the United Nations and EU about Iran's cooperation with the Afghan provisional government, Khalilzad once again repeats his baseless claims to undermine Iran-Afghanistan relations.

In fact one of the priorities of Iran's foreign policy is to strengthening of cooperation with other countries, particularly the neighbors. Iran supports peace and stability in Afghanistan, for it will be in the interests of regional development and international peace and security.

Moreover a strong government in Kabul will be an outstanding bulwark against drug trafficking which is a menace to Iran's social security.

Today the main cause of instability in Afghanistan is the U.S. military presence that has already led to the assassination of civilians in Urozgan and other places. This is why the Afghan people today call for the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from their country. The U.S. has dislodged many popular governments through coups and war only to maintain its own interests, but the masses are aware of the intention behind Washington's policies. Thus U.S. envoy will not be able to undermine Iran-Afghan ties through his baseless accusations, because the Afghans know the intentions behind his remarks.