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KABUL – Afghanistan has flatly rejected accusations from Iran and the United Nations that the country harbors ISIS, Al-Qaeda, or other international terrorist groups, dismissing them as “baseless” and politically driven.
Deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said there is “no proof” behind the claims and accused foreign governments of deliberately painting Afghanistan as unstable to serve their own interests. The rebuttal came after Iran’s UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, warned that militants were being transferred from Syria to Afghanistan, calling it a direct threat to regional security. Kabul countered that such warnings ignore Afghanistan’s realities and shift blame away from Tehran’s own regional entanglements in Syria, Yemen, and beyond.
The clash underscores the deep mistrust between Kabul and Tehran at a time when the Taliban are lobbying for international recognition, which Iran says remains off the table due to unresolved border and security concerns. For Western observers, the exchange highlights the enduring dilemma: while regional powers voice alarm about Afghanistan once again becoming a haven for extremists, Kabul is doubling down on denials, determined to resist narratives that could further isolate its fragile regime.
