Afghanistan may become a new basis for ISIS, warns Iran

Tabnak – Not a long time has passed since it was declared that ISIS’ self-proclaimed caliphate has collapsed in Iraq and Syria. Now, Iranian high-ranking officials warn that foreign powers may use the vacuum of power in Afghanistan to turn the country into a new basis for the terrorist group.

Press TV quotes the Iranian defense minister today as saying that the US is transferring Daesh (ISIS) to Afghanistan to justify its military presence in the South Asian country following heavy blows dealt to the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq.

Brigadier General Amir Hatami made the remarks in a telephone conversation with his Afghan counterpart, Tariq Shah Bahrami, on Sunday.

Hatami offered condolences to and expressed sympathy with the Afghan people, government and armed forces over multiple terrorist attacks that killed and injured many people in the country in recent days.

"Iran has always been concerned about conspiracies hatched by outsiders against the Afghan people and has for many years done its best to ameliorate the suffering of the oppressed people of Afghanistan," he added.

The Iranian defense minister also stressed that the US created Daesh to use it in Syria and Iraq. However, he said, "After heavy blows suffered in these two countries, the US tried to take Daesh out of the scene and transfer it to Afghanistan to justify its presence there through [the group's] shameless crimes."

Hatami’s view is in line with the recent remarks made by the Leader of Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, in which he highlighted the US role in the emergence of Daesh in the Middle East and said those who have created the criminal group are seeking to move it to Afghanistan.

“The very same hands that created Daesh to use it as an instrument for oppression and crime against the people of Syria and Iraq, now and after facing defeat in the regions, are seeking to relocate Daesh to Afghanistan,” the Leader said, adding that recent killings signify the start of the plot.

Ayatollah Khamenei made it clear that the Washington government is behind the emergence of Daesh in the region and said that by relocating Daesh to Afghanistan, the US aims to legitimize its military presence in the region and ensure the security of the Zionist regime of Israel.

The Leader went on to say that the Americans, themselves, are the main factor behind insecurity in Afghanistan, adding that all killings that have occurred in the name of religion since 20 years ago are directly or indirectly linked to the US.

On November 19, Daesh terrorists were flushed out of their last stronghold in Syria’s Al-Bukamal. The city’s liberation marked an end to the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate it had declared in 2014.