TEHRAN (Iran News) – At an emergency, United Nations Security Council meeting set for Monday, France, and Britain will submit a resolution on Afghanistan proposing a safe zone in Kabul to try and protect people trying to leave the country.

Speaking to French media, French President Emmanuel Macron says “our resolution proposal aims to define a safe zone in Kabul, under UN control, which would allow humanitarian operations to continue.”
Earlier, Macron said that Paris was holding preliminary discussions with the Taliban about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the possible evacuation of more people from the country.

It is unclear how the Taliban, which is preparing a new cabinet as the American-led military evacuation nears its end, would react to the joint French, British proposal.

U.S. military forces, which have guarded the airport in Kabul, are due to withdraw by a Tuesday deadline set by President Joe Biden. France is among the countries that have also ended evacuations from Kabul airport. Meanwhile, Britain has confirmed its final flight carrying military personnel out of Afghanistan has left Kabul airport, the country’s Defense Ministry said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is convening a meeting on Afghanistan with the UN envoys for Britain, France, the United States, China, and Russia; the Security Council’s permanent, veto-wielding members.

Meanwhile, the Taliban’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, has condemned an overnight U.S. drone strike against alleged Daesh terrorists following Thursday’s attack near the airport as a “clear attack on Afghan territory”.

The Pentagon claims the airstrikes killed two high-profile Daesh targets and left another wounded.

American President, Joe Biden, has warned that another terror attack at Kabul airport is “highly likely” in the next day or two while at the same time vowing further U.S. airstrikes against alleged Daesh targets.

The swift airstrikes by the Pentagon on what it calls “Daesh targets” has led observers to question whether Washington had prior knowledge of Daesh leaders and facilities’ whereabouts and why the U.S. did carry out the airstrikes before the deadly terror attack at Kabul airport.

Elsewhere, UN officials have warned that Afghanistan faces a humanitarian catastrophe, with large parts of the country suffering from extreme drought conditions. The economy, shattered after decades of war, also faces a financial crisis.

However, Mujahid insists the economy will improve once the new government takes office. He said “the fall of Afghani against foreign currency is temporary and it is because of the situation that suddenly changed, it will come back to normal once the government system starts functioning”

The post France, Britain to propose Kabul “safe zone” appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The statement said until the transition takes place, the Afghan government is responsible for the security of Kabul.”

It added, “We don’t want a single, innocent Afghan civilian to be injured or killed as we take charge but we have not declared a ceasefire.”

“Taliban fighters instructed to stay at the gates of Kabul and not enter the city. Until the transition takes place, the Afghan government is responsible for the security of Kabul,” a Taliban spokesman, Bilal Sarwary, tweeted.

A Taliban leader in Doha has told Reuters that Taliban fighters have been asked to stand at entry points in Kabul and that their forces are not responsible for any deaths or injuries in the Afghan capital.

They also called on Afghan forces to cease gunfire and allow for safe passage through the city for all civilians and foreigners.

CNN’s international correspondent Clarissa Ward says there will be 24/7 evacuations in an effort to get everybody out of the U.S. embassy before Tuesday, including Afghan employees.

It remains to be seen whether they will have that long as it “becomes increasingly clear” that the Afghan government will not be able to defend Kabul.

She says there is “a very real potential” for clashes between the Taliban and the roughly 5,000 U.S. forces personnel either in or on their way to Kabul.

The Associated Press have now confirmed that Taliban have entered the outskirts of the capital, Kabul.

The Taliban fighters were in the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh and Paghman.

The BBC World News anchor and correspondent, Yalda Hakim, reports the Taliban are facing “zero-resistance” in the city center of Kabul.

However, in New York, UN special envoy for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons questioned the Taliban’s commitment to a political settlement, telling the UN Security Council the war had entered a deadlier and more destructive phase “reminiscent of Syria, recently, or Sarajevo, in the not-so-distant past”.

According to Reuters, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the prospect of Afghanistan slipping into full-scale and protracted civil war “is a stark reality”.

The post Taliban say have no plans to take Kabul ‘by force’ appeared first on Iran News Daily.

TEHRAN (Iran News) –   The Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan’s Jalalabad without a fight, according to officials and a resident, effectively leaving the capital, Kabul, as the last major urban area under government control, Al Jazeera reported.

The key eastern city, which is also the capital of Nangarhar province, fell early on Sunday morning. Its fall followed the Taliban’s seizure of Mazar-i-Sharif, a major northern city.

The armed group posted photos online on Sunday showing its members in the governor’s office in Jalalabad.

“We woke up this morning to the Taliban white flags all over the city,” said resident Ahmad Wali, confirming the Taliban’s social media claim. “They entered without fighting,” he told the AFP news agency.

Abrarullah Murad, a legislator from the province, told The Associated Press that the group seized Jalalabad after elders negotiated the fall of the government there.

Another Jalalabad-based Afghan official told Reuters there were no clashes in the city “because the governor has surrendered to the Taliban”.

“Allowing passage to the Taliban was the only way to save civilian lives,” the official added.

A Western security official also confirmed the fall of the city and said it put the Taliban in control of the roads connecting Afghanistan to Pakistan.

The post Taliban close in on Kabul, seize Jalalabad appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh issued a statement on Friday as media outlets broke the news that the Taliban have captured Herat and Kandahar, the third- and second-largest cities of Afghanistan respectively.  In Herat, the situation aroused concerns in Iran because Iranian diplomats are still stationed in the province.

Expressing concerns over the escalation of the war in Afghanistan, Khatibzadeh called for the protection of the lives of civilians. The spokesman also called on the Taliban to ensure the complete security and health of diplomats and diplomatic facilities, given the insurgent group’s takeover of Herat.

Khatibzadeh also said that the Iranian Foreign Ministry is in continued contact with Iran’s consulate-general in Herat and is following the safety and health of its diplomats in the diplomatic center.

Earlier on Thursday night, a senior diplomat at the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Herat fell to the Taliban. “Management of Herat has been handed over to the forces of the Islamic Emirate. Consul-General, diplomats, and the staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran consulate-general are inside the building. We are in constant contact with them. The forces in charge of administering the city have committed to complete safety of the consulate-general, diplomats, and staff,” Director-General of the Foreign Ministry’s South Asian Affairs Seyyed Rasoul Mousavi said on Twitter.

On Friday, Mousavi reassured journalists that “our diplomats, like those of the other three countries present in Herat, are in full safety and security. And they are not worried.”

Taliban have rapidly advanced in many cities of Afghanistan, overrunning as many as 15 provincial capitals. The rapid advancement of the Taliban prompted many countries such as the United States and Canada to contemplate contingency plans for evacuating their diplomats from Kabul. But Iran, thanks in part to its diplomatic contacts with the Taliban seems to be sure that its diplomats would be safe and secure even after the Taliban takeover. This may explain why Iran decided to maintain its diplomats in Herat.

Iran has had contacts with almost all Afghan stakeholders and played host to at least one round of intra-Afghan peace talks. It also held talks with the Taliban in an effort to hear their views on the future of Afghanistan. Iran has always underlined the need to form an all-inclusive government in Afghanistan, one that would include representatives from the Taliban and the Kabul-based Afghan government.

In recent months, Iran embarked on active diplomacy to bring peace to Afghanistan. This included talks with both sides of the conflict. Last week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks with UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan Jean Arnault, who had traveled to Tehran along with a delegation to exchange views with Iranian Foreign Ministry officials, according to a separate statement by the ministry.

In the Sunday meeting, Zarif touched upon the dire situation in Afghanistan and the growing complexity of the circumstances in the country, dismissing foreign powers’ inappropriate policies as one of the root causes of the current situation in Afghanistan.

He expressed Iran’s readiness to help with and facilitate negotiations among Afghan sides in order to advance the peace process in Afghanistan.

The foreign minister said intra-Afghan talks are the only solution to the problems facing the country.

“The international community should adopt a straightforward stance to support a political settlement of the crisis in Afghanistan and condemn violence and its consequences,” Zarif pointed out.

The UN envoy, in turn, stressed the importance of the role of Iran and other regional countries in helping move forward with the peace trend in Afghanistan.

He said no country or a limited number of countries alone will be able to change the current situation in Afghanistan, adding only collective cooperation can defuse the situation in the country.

He emphasized intra-Afghan talks as the only way to tackle the current situation in the country, and described his negotiations in Tehran as fruitful and significant.

Earlier this month, Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian, the Iranian foreign minister’s special envoy for Afghanistan affairs, had a phone conversation with Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar.

In the phone call, the two sides conferred on the latest developments in Afghanistan.

The two sides also discussed the significance of the ongoing Afghan peace processes, especially the continuation of intra-Afghan talks in Tehran.

Also on Tuesday, Mousavi held talks with some European ambassadors and charge d’affaires residing in Tehran over the ongoing Afghanistan crisis, IRNA reported. He underlined that if the European countries want to take any step for peace in Afghanistan, today is the time to act. Tomorrow will be too late, he noted.

Mousavi said that the key message of his talks with the European envoys was that “time is rapidly wasting away.”

“If Europe wants to do something for peace in Afghanistan, it must act today, tomorrow is too late,” the Iranian diplomat said.

He stressed that effective steps must be taken for peace in Afghanistan before the collapse of all structures.

During his last press briefing, Khatibzadeh voiced “deep concern” over continued clashes in neighboring Afghanistan as the internecine war between the Afghan government and the Taliban continued to rage on.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing on Monday, Khatibzadeh said, “Iran is deeply concerned about the developments in Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic of Iran has always considered the security of Afghanistan as its own security and has used all its facilities and capacities to contribute to the peace, stability, and tranquility of Afghanistan at bilateral, regional, and international levels.”

He added, “In this context, we are ready and willing to pursue the Tehran Peace Initiative to form an inclusive government in a genuine intra-Afghan dialogue, including all the groups that exist in Afghanistan today.”

The spokesman also called on Afghanistan’s neighbors to hold regular and structured dialogue in order to coordinate their efforts, manage the humanitarian issue of war-displaced people, prevent the geography of Afghanistan from being exploited by extremist groups, and help end the war, bloodshed, and fratricide.

Khatibzadeh said Iran is ready to facilitate and play host to such a dialogue.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has hosted millions of its own Afghan brothers and sisters for the past four decades and has never had anything but a kinship view of the Afghan people, and this humane view has always existed and will continue, God willing,” he pointed out.

The Taliban have adopted a different war strategy in their advancements. The first indication of this shift emerged on August 6 when mainstream media outlets broke the news that the Taliban have captured the first provincial capital in southwestern Afghanistan. On that day, Zaranj, the capital of the southern province of Nimruz, fell to the Taliban without any fighting.

Rouh Gul Khairzad, deputy governor of Nimruz, confirmed the news, saying that the Taliban took Zaranj from government forces without fighting, something that delivered a strong blow to the morale of the Afghan government troops and unleashed a series of military campaigns by the Taliban that led to the conquest of many other provincial capitals across the war-torn country.

Recent advancements of the Taliban were indicative of their new strategy. The group intensified crusade in May but largely remained focused on rural areas and small cities, delaying the battle for provincial capitals until the proper time. Now, it seems that the Taliban think the time has come for them to gradually take over the major cities. They are currently going after provincial capitals one after another with Kabul is more likely to be the last and biggest battle.

The post Iran voices concern over escalation in Afghanistan appeared first on Iran News Daily.

In the meeting, Zarif referred to the serious situation in Afghanistan and the increasing complexity of disorder in the country.

He mentioned the wrong policies of foreign powers as one of the important factors in the current situation in Afghanistan.

Announcing Iran’s readiness to assist and facilitate talks between the Afghan parties in order to advance the peace process in Afghanistan, the foreign minister said that the conflict in Central Asian country can be resolved only through talks between Afghans themselves.

He added, “The global community must adopt a political solution to the crisis in Afghanistan and condemn the violence and its aftermath.”

For his part, the special envoy stressed the importance of the role of Iran and other countries in the region in contributing to the Afghan peace process.

Arnault added that no country can solely solve the current disorder in Afghanistan.

“Only collective cooperation can reduce the severity of the situation in Afghanistan,” the special envoy insisted.

Arnault also stressed the importance of inter-Afghan talks as the only way to overcome the rapidly spreading conflict in Afghanistan and considered his talks in Tehran useful and important.

Iran has tried hard to broker peace between warring parties in Afghanistan.

In his press conference on August 1, Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said that the situation in Afghanistan is serious.

“For the Islamic Republic of Iran, security of the Afghan people has always been a top priority. We have declared to all parties and groups in Afghanistan that they must consider the protection of the Afghan people in all their actions and talks,” he noted.

Iran has always been ready to do whatever is necessary to achieve peace in the country and maintain the security of the Afghan people, he insisted.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has facilitated the first round of talks between the Afghan parties in Tehran and is ready to facilitate the second round.”

He reiterated Iran’s position that there is no military solution to the Afghanistan crisis.

“As we have repeatedly stated, the key is to hold genuine inter-Afghan dialogue and form an inclusive government with all Afghan groups. The Taliban are part of the present and future of Afghanistan,” Khatibzadeh highlighted.

He reiterated that everyone should be aware that genuine inter-Afghan dialogue can be a lasting solution for Afghanistan.

“Iran considers the security of Afghanistan as its security,” he said, adding that Iran is in contact with all parties in Afghanistan and will do whatever is necessary to build lasting peace in Afghanistan.

Iran is pushing hard for peace in neighboring Afghanistan.

Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian, the special representative of the Iranian Foreign Ministry for Afghanistan, met with Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar in Kabul on July 27, discussing the latest developments surrounding Afghanistan.

Taherian assured the Afghan foreign minister of Tehran’s support for the peace process in Afghanistan while maintaining the achievements the Afghans have made over the past two decades.

Iran’s special envoy also called for further cooperation between Kabul and Tehran in various areas, including border cooperation and coordination between different sectors.

According to the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Atmar said he appreciates the reasonable stances of Iran in supporting peace efforts, ending violence, putting an end to arbitrary killings and torture of civilians, and human rights violations in the territories captured by the Taliban.

Atmar also warned a domination of the Taliban and the escalation of violence by the group will lead to a spread of extremism and the presence of international terrorist groups, including ISIS, in Afghanistan and regional countries.

Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces has increased over the past two months as foreign troops pull out of the country.

The Taliban is thought to have captured up to half of all the Afghan territory.

As U.S. forces have withdrawn, the Taliban have made rapid gains, retaking border crossings and rural areas.

The Taliban, who were pushed out of power by the U.S. invasion nearly 20 years ago, have also seized key roads as they seek to cut off supply routes.

To establish peace and security in Afghanistan, Iran hosted a meeting between a Taliban delegation and a group of figures who support the republican system on July 7 and 8.

Foreign Minister Zarif, who led the talks, urged both sides to show courage in making peace.

“Courage in peace is more important than courage in war because peace needs sacrifice and forgiveness, needs ignoring one’s maximal demands, and paying attention to the other side’s demands, especially in these talks where there is no other side, and both sides are brothers seeking peace and calm for the Afghan nation,” Zarif told the Afghan participants.

The Iranian foreign minister added, “What I ask you is that use this opportunity and end the war in Afghanistan as soon as possible, and provide the Afghan people with the chance to develop.”

He also voiced Iran’s readiness to facilitate peace talks. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is always ready to facilitate your talks in any way you prefer,” he pointed out.

The post Iran insists on inter- Afghan dialogue to settle conflict appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“Security is a great blessing that will not be achieved by the United States in its quest for the rule of forest logic except through unity and smart devotion in the field. The crime of killing oppressed girls in Kabul is revenge for the independence of the great nation of Afghanistan. The U.S. presence will help with help the spread of terrorism and (also) its departure will be accompanied by costs and killings,” tweeted Zakani, head of the Parliament Research Institute, on Sunday.

The United States invaded Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Since then terrorists have become more arrogant and more violent.

“They have been in Afghanistan for 20 years under the pretext of fighting terrorism, but the power of terrorism in this country has been increasing year by year so that the evil lineage of the U.S. presence in the region is not eradicated. Innocent girls in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Palestine will pay the price with their lives,” Mohammad Reza Ahmadi, a member of the Education Committee of the parliament, tweeted on Sunday.

Elahian, head of the Human Rights sub-committee of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the parliament, also tweeted, “Terrorist attack on children in Afghanistan is against the rights of child in Islam and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We sympathize with the survivors and condemn this barbaric act.”

The explosions are believed to have been caused by a car bomb and two improvised explosive devices planted in the area.

Emotional scenes in Kabul on Sunday caused pains, where families buried their lost ones.

One of the residents of the area was quoted by AFP as saying: “I rushed to the scene and found myself in the middle of bodies. All of them were girls. Their bodies piled on top of each other.”

The post MPs react to Kabul terrorist attack appeared first on Iran News Daily.

It added that several shrapnels have hit the main office of the embassy and in some parts, windows are broken and facilities are damaged.

Military

A series of loud explosions have shaken central Kabul, including several rockets that landed near the heavily fortified Green Zone where many embassies and international firms are based, officials said.

As the Guardian reported, there were no immediate reports of any casualties, but Saturday’s explosions occurred in densely populated parts of the Afghan capital.

Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz confirmed “multiple rockets” had been fired, while photos on social media appeared to show damage to an external wall at a large medical complex.

The interior ministry said two small “sticky bomb” explosions had been reported earlier Saturday morning, including one that hit a police car, killing one policeman and wounding three others.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The post Rocket lands in Iranian embassy’s precinct in Kabul appeared first on Iran News Daily.

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said on Monday that Tehran and Kabul will explore ways to boost cooperation in the energy and transportation sectors in the upcoming joint economic commission meeting.

Iran and Afghanistan are due to hold their 6th Joint Economic Committee meeting in Kabul on October 25-27.

Ardakanian said, “The cooperation in the projects such as Herat-Khaf railroad, customs cooperation and border markets as well as energy ties will be addressed during the upcoming meeting.”

Since the chairmanship of the meeting has been assigned to the Energy Ministry, he added, issues such as cooperation in the field of renewable energies will also be discussed during the session.

He said that Iran and Afghanistan can also cooperate on renewable energies which require a joint investment scheme.

The minister said that officials from the two countries will do their best to give a boost to Herat-khaf railway project and reach the final point.

Afghan officials say that the railway project will be inaugurated within the next few months which they say will be a breakthrough in trade relations between the two neighboring countries.

Construction of Harat-Khaf railway, which is underway in four parts and is 193 km, began in 2007.

Meanwhile Chairman of Afghanistan’s Peace Council Abdullah Abdullah, for his part, said that if peace is restored in Afghanistan, the country can take advantage more of these cooperation opportunities.

He added that both countries can cooperate on wind energies and both countries are studying the grounds for cooperation in this field.

He expressed hope Afghanistan’s internal and financial problems would be resolved soon.

Earlier in October, Ardakanian held talks with Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar through video conference on the development of cooperation in various energy sectors while considering issues that could be raised in the joint committee meeting.

The post Tehran, Kabul to Bolster Energy , Transportation Cooperation appeared first on Iran News Daily.

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Iranian Ambassador to Kabul Bahador Aminian says Iran’s Energy Ministry has vast and targeted plans in Afghanistan regarding the importance of electricity and infrastructures for transfer of electricity, and it will soon announce good news.

Speaking in the opening ceremony of the specialized exhibition “Water, Electricity and New Energies” in Kabul, Mr. Aminian said that Iran and Afghanistan have a great deal of opportunities to develop them and they should not let enemies ruin it. So if Afghanistan intends to develop, Iran is definitely the best choice in a way that both Iran and Afghanistan can reach the pre-planned targets via Iran, he added.

He pointed to the significance of Afghanistan market for Iran’s private sector, adding that statistics indicate that Afghanistan’s imports from Iran are around $3b annually and if this country is developed, a bigger market will be created for Iranian producers.

Aminian reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to help Afghan people to improve quality of their products and then it can be a purchaser of good quality products produced in Afghanistan.

He admitted that although the trade volume and trade balance of both countries is not satisfactory, Iran is ready for investment and offering appropriate technologies in Afghanistan.

He then pointed to the historic background of cultural, economic and political commonalities of both states, adding that the decades of good relations between both states is the basic reason for holding this exhibition which can be determinant in the future.

Aminian said that until today only exhibitions on displaying goods have been held but this exhibition is for displaying services and technology, adding that Iran showed that it is ready to invest in developing services and technology needed by Afghanistan, and it means Iran does not look at Afghanistan as a mere market for sale and it is after having a long and sustainable relation.

He reiterated that Iran is the winner of presenting top services in Afghanistan and expressed hope recent peace talks in Afghanistan would lead to sustainability of trade opportunity in the country.

Meanwhile Mayor of Kabul, for his part, said that gates of Kabul and other cities of Afghanistan are open to Iranian companies and investors, expressing hope that expansion of bilateral trade and cooperation would increase.

He noted that Iran by putting behind sanctions successfully and attaining self-sufficiency can be a good model for Afghanistan.

The post Tehran, Kabul to Expand Cooperation on Electricity appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The post Flash Floods in Kabul Kill at Least 30 People appeared first on Iran News Daily.