Sepah-e Pasdaran or Revolutionary Guards, a branch of Iran’s military, has threatened to attack US bases in Afghanistan and the region if the Israelis attack Iran with the help of the US or if US bases in our country are used to launch attacks against Iran.
Sepah-e Pasdaran or Revolutionary Guards, a branch of Iran’s military, has threatened to attack US bases in Afghanistan and the region if the Israelis attack Iran with the help of the US or if US bases in our country are used to launch attacks against Iran.Husain Amin, a spokesman in the Iranian Embassy in Kabul told Killid that although the Afghan government had promised that its land would not be used against Iran there is strong evidence to the contrary.
Foreign military bases in Afghanistan are outside the control of the Afghan government, and can be used against Iran without permission, he points out.
“Though the Afghan government had promised that its land would not be used against Iran, we have witnessed a US (military) aircraft entering Iran. It was forced to land by Iranian air force. This shows the US is not complying with the commitment the Afghan government had made to Iran. Whenever the US feels necessary it will attack Iran from Afghanistan,” he said in an interview.
Asked about the threat to attack US bases in Afghanistan, Husain Amin replied, “If we feel that our security is under threat from the US bases it is natural that action would be taken against the bases.”
Earlier, the commander-in-chief of Iranian air force in the Revolutionary Guard, Hajji Amir Ali Zada, had told the Al-Alam network – owned by the state-run media corporation Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting – that if the Israelis attack Iran with the help of the US the Iranian military would target US bases in the region.
Foreign troops
Hajji Zada justified the attacks on countries where the bases are located, saying, “We call them (bases) land of America, not land of Afghanistan, Bahrain or Qatar… We will surely attack the bases.”
Afghan government officials said relations with both the US and Afghanistan’s neighbours are friendly. Siamak Herawi, deputy spokesperson to President Hamid Karzai, said foreign troops are in Afghanistan to counter terrorism, and not to attack third countries. He pointed out that strategic pacts signed with western governments reiterate that Afghan territory is not to be used to menace neighbours or countries in the region.
Herawi said, “No threat would emanate from Afghanistan to any other country including Iran; the international forces are in Afghanistan to combat terrorism, they have not come to Afghanistan to take on any country… I once again give an assurance that our neighbours face no threat from Afghanistan like in the past 10 years.”
Some political observers are disturbed by the Iranian air force chief’s threat of retaliation, and say it could jeopardise friendly bilateral relations with Tehran. Ghulam Jaillani Zwak, a political analyst, says: “There is no reasonable cause for Iran to complain about threats from Afghanistan. If Iran targets US bases in our country it will be enough reason for us to join hands with the US, and let America use our land. This (retaliatory action) would damage Iran not Afghanistan.”
Political commentator Sayed Jawad Hussaini believes Tehran has no right to attack Afghanistan if it feels threatened by the US. Any such action would force Afghanistan’s hand since the defence of its territorial integrity is the government’s responsibility.
“It is the duty of the Afghan government to defend the territorial integrity of Afghanistan. The government should diplomatically try to convince Iran and America that if the war happens between the two countries, they should not touch Afghanistan,” he says.
Meanwhile, political analyst Din Mohammad Jawed dismisses fears of a possible breakout of war between Iran, Israel and the US. He says the rival sides are flexing muscles and “Israel would never attack Iran because of US and its own interests”.
