How the U.S. and Iran Play the Afghan ‘Great Game’

As Afghanistan’s western neighbor, Iran maintains a vested interest in prodding war-torn Afghanistan towards achieving political and economic stability. Burdened by Afghan refugees and a stream of narcotics that have traversed the Iranian-Afghan border and strained the Iranian economy, Iran’s leadership has prioritized resolving these issues and pursuing its own goals when it comes to the future of Afghanistan.

However, Iran’s agenda does not necessarily coincide with the U.S. roadmap for Afghanistan, pitting Washington and Tehran against each other in yet another contested battleground.

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