Fatemeh Aman

Can Iran Help Reach a Lasting Peace in Afghanistan?

Progress has been reported in peace talks between US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban, but without the participation of the Afghan government, it seems premature to assume that an agreement will be reached soon. Could Iran play a constructive role in achieving an end to America’s longest ...

Hamidreza Azizi

Iran ‘Look East’ Policy 2.0

Tehran hosted national security and deputy national security advisers from China, India, Russia and Afghanistan on Sept. 26, in what was billed as the first Regional Security Dialogue. According to Keyvan Khosravi, spokesman for the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, the one-day meeting, initiated ...

Mona Hossaini

Women's Critical Role in Afghan Peace Process

The contemporary history of the South Asian region nearly always had a substantial component of conflict. Some examples include the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir that has been ongoing since 1947; the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war; civil war and rise of insurgency and conflict in Nepal; and ...

Amanollah Shafaei

Afghanistan and Pakistan Are Experiencing a Thaw in Relations?

Since the birth of Pakistan in 1948 up to the present time, relations between this country and Afghanistan have gone through many ups and downs. Without a doubt, the issue of the Durand Line, which has broken Pashtunistan into two halves, is at the core of political relations between these two countries....

Zahra Tavakkoli

Afghanistan, A Possible New Base for Daesh

After the end of Daesh’s organized presence in Iraq and Syria was announced on November 20, 2017, the group was expected to choose Afghanistan as its new official base in order to continue its terrorist and inhumane activities. Therefore, if this happens, the issue of insecurity and instability ...

Syed Zafar Mehdi

Peace in Afghanistan Needs Afghans' Engagement

  It’s the first time since 2015 that ‘peace talks’ are in news. In July 2015, Afghan officials and Taliban representatives held peace parleys in the Pakistani mountainous resort Murree, which unfortunately failed to make headway because of change of leadership in the Afghan ...

Mohammad Taqi Jahanbakhsh

Factors behind Escalation of the Crisis in Afghanistan

During recent months, Afghanistan has been entangled in conflicts, which have had remarkable effects in various fields. Their domestic effects include weakening of the national unity government, further widening of ethnic gaps, intensification of political competitions, prevention or weakening of ...

Mohsen Pakaeen

Threats of New US Afghanistan Strategy

Withdrawing from President Trump’s positions announced during the presidential elections, the United States insisted on a continued presence in Afghanistan and the desire to increase its troops. Announcing the US administration’s new strategy on August 21, Donald Trump vowed to increase ...

Zahra Tohidi

Water Crisis and the Future of Iran-Afghanistan Relations

The recent speech by President Rouhani at the international conference on ‘dealing with sandstorms’, stating that “we cannot be indifferent to what is destroying our environment… the construction of numerous dams in Afghanistan, such as Kajaki, Kamal Khan, Salma and others ...

Vali Kaleji

Goals of US New Silk Road Strategy

New Silk Road Strategy (NSRS) is on Obama administration’s agenda with the purpose of liberalization of trade flow, acceleration of economic cooperation, increasing trade volume, and improvement of human relations between Central Asia and South Asia, centered by Afghanistan. Generally, the main ...