Iran Looks to Afghanistan To End Political Isolation
The Iranian government is looking to south Asia and Afghanistan in particular as a way to relieve its economic and diplomatic isolation, Fatemah Aman writes for Al-Monitor, explaining the move also could exploit a major US vulnerability — the US desire for an orderly troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2014.
Burdened by European sanctions and growing popular dissatisfaction, the Iranian government is looking to south Asia — Afghanistan, in particular — as a way to relieve its economic and diplomatic isolation. A key element is the Iranian port of Chahbahar, which can serve as a gateway to Afghanistan and central Asia.
Afghanistan is not just a neighbor to Iran but, more than any other place, the country where Iranian and American interests most overlap. At the same time, the Iranian government sees Afghanistan as a country where it can exploit a major US vulnerability — the US desire for an orderly troop withdrawal by 2014.
