US 'looks forward' to Iran help, after 30 years
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggests that Iran seeks stability and an end to the drug trade that bankrolls the Afghan insurgency.
Iran has accepted an invitation to take part in a UN-sponsored conference on Afghanistan in the Hague, marking a turning point in three decades of its deadlocked relations with the US.
Clinton, speaking to reporters en route to The Hague, said she is "looking forward" to Iran's participation and contribution to achieve security in the war-hit Afghanistan.
"The fact that they accepted the invitation to come suggests that they believe there is a role for them to play and we are looking forward to hear about that," said the former first lady.
"From our information, they are really concerned about all the narcotics crossing the border into their country… This is a matter of their own internal security. . . . I would imagine that's an area where they are willing to work with others," Clinton added.
She did not rule out a sit-down with Iranian delegates at the conference -- which is directed at rallying world support for calm in Afghanistan at a time when US military efforts have reached a stalemate in the landlocked country.
The meeting will bring together leading representatives from more than 70 countries and international organizations.
Iran neighbors Afghanistan and has close historical, cultural and linguistic ties with the country.
Tehran's post 9/11 cooperation with Washington to uproot the Taliban were to such an extent that according to the former US special envoy to Kabul, James Dobbin, "few countries were as helpful to the United States - in its early involvement in Afghanistan - as Iran."
Former National Security Council official Flynt Leverett has also acknowledged Iran's help in stemming Afghan violence.
"Washington's engagement with Tehran over Afghanistan provided significant and tangible benefits for the American position during the early stages of the war on terror," he has said.
US President George W. Bush, however, responded to the Iranian efforts by labeling the country as an "axis of evil" in a 2002 State of the Union address.
