US responsible for reconstruction of Afghanistan

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani delivered a speech at 2023 Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan and regional security on Wednesday.

During the last four decades, Iran has always stood by Afghans in the worst conditions, Shamkhani said at the summit.

Today, despite the problems caused by the US' cruel, unilateral and illegal sanctions, Iran continues to provide assistance to the people of Afghanistan and host a large number of Afghan refugees, he added.

Referring to the direct impact of the security conditions in Afghanistan on the neighbors of this country, he said, "Creating security, peace, stability and progress in Afghanistan is our main priority."

Saying that the collective effort of the neighbors alone cannot create lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan, he considered the will of the rulers of Afghanistan the way out of insecurity and instability.

The US is making efforts to turn Afghanistan into a platform for promoting insecurity and terrorism, he also said.

Those who played the biggest role in the destruction of Afghanistan are now most responsible for providing the costs of rebuilding Afghanistan's economic infrastructure, he stressed.

Launched in 2017, the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan is a regional platform involving the special envoys of Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, China, and Pakistan. Its mandate is to facilitate political reconciliation between the then-internationally backed Kabul government and the Taliban, establish peace, and ensure regional security.

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