Alwaght- The Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif visited Kabul Saturday, May 7, to discuss with the Afghan officials a set of issues as Tehran raises security concerns majorly caused by recent developments in the neighboring country.

Afghanistan visit followed FM Zarif's trip to Pakistan on the heels of terror attack that killed at least 10 Iranian border guards in Mirjaveh town, southeast of the country. Attackers fled to Pakistan territories as their “safe haven.”

Some long-term Iranian goals are said to have been lying behind the visit. Tehran has been working on a security pact with Afghanistan as it sees itself bordering the unstable Pakistan and Afghanistan. A security agreement is expected to draw up a strategic mechanism covering security, economic, political, and some other matters.

The Afghan security conditions have undergone some changes recently. New militant groups have begun emerging in the country, among them ISIS terrorist group which is moving to destabilize the formerly secure areas of the country like the north. Iran as a country sharing borders with Afghanistan watches closely the terrorist group's moves in its new area of influence while it is losing ground in Syria and Iraq.

The northern areas of Afghanistan, which once were home to the Northern Alliance and other groups close to Iran like those led by Ahmad Shah Massoud, are now scene to ISIS militants' saber-rattling, something putting the pro-Iranian Tajiks and Shiite groups inside Afghanistan on the line, not to mention that it has almost stopped the process of development in the northern regions.

On the other side, rise of ISIS terrorist group in the Afghan territories has facilitated transfer of terrorist fighters to the Central Asian countries including Turkmenistan which also borders Iran. Zarif's visit reflects the Iranian struggles to push Afghanistan's domestic conditions towards improvement which in turn will distance the security threats from Iran’s border areas to avoid the terror attacks like what happened recently in the Iranian border town in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

Iran also looks to see what happens next to Afghanistan’s government as some former Taliban groups now get involved in the country’s political body, something that probably helps the anti-Iranian groups, including Pashtuns, gain more power. It is important for Tehran to see who is joining the government body with what aims. It will work to support the moderate sides that are in favor of security and stability in the country.

Iran, Afghanistan fail to establish strategic ties

Tehran and Kabul have so far failed to enter in a strategic partnership that helps them face the challenges together largely because of Afghanistan's ethnic structure. The country contains different ethnic groups with their eyes majorly on their foreign supporters. Actors such as Pakistan, Uzbekistan, China, Turkmenistan, and also Iran hold a sway over parts of Afghanistan’s ethnic body.

Another factor preventing closer Tehran-Kabul ties is the foreign interventions. When Ashraf Ghani became president, he visited Iran and welcomed Chabahar Port development project which will benefit Afghanistan ridding the country of its land lock. Reports say that foreign lobbying from the Western countries and also recently Arab countries like Saudi Arabia pressed the Afghan government to stop backing the project that aims at connecting Afghanistan markets to the Iranian port.

Foreign actors have been firm in their efforts to block Iranian-Afghan closeness. Historically, Britain separated Afghanistan from Iran in the 18th century, and then the US did its best to keep Kabul away from Tehran in the modern times. And a new anti-Iranian player in Afghanistan is Saudi Arabia which works hard ideologically to back the anti-Tehran agenda holders including Taliban in Afghanistan. It is not only Taliban that comes against Iranian influence in the country. A new militant force is arriving, ISIS. It finds Afghanistan a new safe haven now that the terror group is losing edge to the government forces in Syria and Iraq. Tehran works to rid itself of the upcoming challenges from this terrorist group through contacts with Kabul.

It is not just Iran that feels the upcoming perils, as other countries like Russia, China, and India, too, share the same concerns. These countries have recently worked on establishing contacts with the Afghan government. All are in favor of a stable state of Afghanistan. Beside their economic interests and seeing Afghanistan as a good market for the Chinese products, Beijing leaders hold their security worries like India and Russia. The three countries have Muslim minorities that partially host radical and separatist forces posing potential threats to the integrity of the three countries. Iran like the other three countries holds its security and economic agenda in relation to Afghanistan.

The outlook of Iran-Afghanistan relations is well dependent on the domestic and foreign factors. The government in Afghanistan faces challenges as claims of election fraud made it heavily fragile and created gaps between the Pashtun southerners and the Tajik and Shiite northerners. Amid such a state of division the hopes for boosted Afghanistan relations with pro-stability parties like Iran are largely unrealizable. This means that the foreign-backed terrorists will continue activities across the country and will work to strength their base there, something driving Iran to work on helping the Afghans stand together to confront the challenges that are renewing themselves and striking Afghanistan hard.