18 Aug 2021; MEMO: Iran's top security official has said the departure of US forces from Afghanistan is "humiliating", days after the Taliban took over the neighbouring country.
"The end of any occupation is a humiliating dismissal," Ali Shamkhani, who heads the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said today.
"The fate that befell the United States in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan is also the inevitable fate of the occupying Zionist regime [Israel]," he added.
His remarks came days after the Taliban captured the capital Kabul, taking control of Afghanistan for the first time in almost 20 years.
Senior lawmaker and former Iranian ambassador to Kabul, Fada Hossein Maleki, said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's mission was to "hand over the country to Taliban".
On Monday, Iran's newly-elected President Ebrahim Raeisi said the transfer of power in Kabul presents an "opportunity" to "restore life, security, and lasting peace" in the country.He instructed Shamkhani and outgoing Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to "closely monitor developments" in the neighbouring country.
Iran's embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul remains open and fully active, it has said. This comes as many countries evacuated their embassy staff from Kabul due to concerns over the security situation after the Taliban had seized the city.
