Tehran, IRNA – If the world and the international bodies judge fairly, the United States should compensate the great Afghan people for its illegal occupation there, an Iranian expert on the West Asia affairs said.
The Afghan nation is a victim of the US two-decade presence in Afghanistan’s soil; and the US has to pay hundreds of million dollars for its illegal occupation, Hassan Hanizadeh told IRNA in an interview.
Speaking on the occasion of first anniversary of the US exit from Afghanistan in late August 2021, Hanizadeh said such a humiliating withdrawal did show that the US regional policies have failed.
The United States occupied Afghanistan in 2001 in order to fight terrorism after the 9/11; but the US has an unreal and double-sided attitude towards terrorism, the expert noted.
The US did occupy Afghanistan on the pretext of suppressing al-Qaeda and then Taliban, but the outcome of such an illegitimate occupation brought countless crimes committed by the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) against the oppressed Afghan people, the expert added.
Repeated bombardments against defenseless people, displacement of millions of Afghan people, destruction of cultural and economic infrastructures, aggravation of ethnic conflicts and interference in political affairs are parts of the outcomes of the US twenty-year presence in Afghanistan, Hanizadeh underlined.
He went on to point to a mistakenly-mounted bombardment in a wedding party during which over 100 women and children were killed in Afghanistan about 15 years ago.
As the expert stated, the US does not respect human principles.
Now, on the eve of the first anniversary of the US exit from Afghanistan, analysis shows that Afghanistan faces a growing humanitarian, financial and economic crisis due to global indifference to the two-decade losses, he stressed.
He further referred to Iran’s joint border crossings with Afghanistan and the heavy weight of this crisis being borne by Iran.
In a related development, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi said in late January, “While the United States’ inhumane sanctions have created tremendous difficulties for our government and people, various services, including education, health, medical treatment, vocational training, and employment are being provided to Afghan people living in Iran, with minimal assistance from the international community.”
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
