'US needs India, Iran's assistance in Afghanistan war'.

Byline: ANI

Washington, Mar. 27 (ANI): The chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry has said the United States may seek cooperation from India, China, and Iran to stabilize Afghanistan.

"We also need to reach out to Afghanistan's other neighbours, including India, China, and Iran," the Dawn quoted Kerry, as saying at the confirmation hearing for the new US ambassador to Afghanistan.

The US and Iran will begin their cooperation for stabilising Afghanistan after a meeting between officials of the two countries in The Hague next week, Kerry said.

The former Democratic presidential candidate noted that Iran had helped to stabilise Afghanistan situation in 2001 and 2002.

"And the Obama administration is right to explore how our interests might coincide again on this issue, beginning at the Hague Conference next week," Kerry said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry told reporters in Tehran that Iran would join the US at two international conferences on Afghanistan.

"The level of participation is yet to be determined. Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially invited Iran to the Hague conference," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are expected to attend the Hague Conference.

The US move is seen in Tehran as a moral victory for the Iranian government, which was castigated by the Bush administration as part of an 'Axis of Evil'. (ANI)

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