"We want countries such as Iran, which helped us a lot to resist the Taleban, terrorism and foreign aggression, and the United States, which contributed to the Taleban's defeat, to cooperate for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, even despite their differences", Karzai told journalist after his second round of talks, held behind closed doors, with the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.

Replying positively to Karzai's request for Iran's active participation in the process of reconstruction of Afghanistan, Mr. Khameneh’i said that the whole world, and particularly the Islamic nations should play an active role in reconstruction of Afghanistan.

"Our relations with other countries must not have, and will not have, any bearing on our ties and cooperation with Iran as well as in out reconstruction", the Afghan Premier replied, in an allusion to the United States.
The presence of American military in Afghanistan is a major stumbling obstacle in relations between Tehran with Kabol, as Iranian clerical rulers, including Ayatollah Khameneh'i himself, but also a majority in the reformist camp, consider the American presence in neighbouring Afghanistan as a ploy aimed at destabilising the Islamic Republic of Iran, described by President George W. Bush as an "evil State" alongside Iraq and North Korea.

In their meetings with Mr. Karzai, Iranian officials all highlighted their frustration at this American military presence, observing that Afghanistan should be "free of all alien presence".

Washington accuses Iran of fomenting troubles in Afghanistan to undermine Mr. Karzai’s United-Nations’ installed government.

In fact, Mr. Karzai arrived in Tehran Sunday only hours after US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told him that the US suspects Iran of sending elite forces into Afghanistan to foment tribal unrest in the provinces of Herat and Mazar Sharif, controlled respectively by the pro-Iranian General Esma’il Khan and the Uzbek warlord General Rashid Dostom.

Iran also confirmed American accusations of harbouring Taleban and Al-Qa’eda members, admitting the arrest of some 150 of them at border areas with Pakistan.

The two men met for a second, two-hours round of talks, at which Mr. Khatami told Mr. Karzai that Iran stood behind him and his interim government.

Noting the presence of Afghan journalists who had come to Tehran to cover the visit, Mr. Khatami said the presence of the Afghan media to cover Karzai's visit was a sign of progress in itself.
"Being questioned by a journalist for Afghan television is a great development in that country because the media and especially TV were banned under the Taleban", he noted, adding: "This confirms the end of an era of darkness and ignorance in Afghanistan".

Speaking to Iranian lawmakers in Dari, or Afghan Farsi, Mr. Karzai, dressed in his now traditional green Uzbek "poostin" and wearing his "chapan" hat, praised Iran’s help to Afghanistan to get rid both the Soviet occupation and the Taleban terrorism.

"We have come to a country that for two decades shared our misery, sorrow, pain and suffering like a brother", he said, adding that the bounds of culture, religion, history and language are uniting Iranian and Afghan people.

"The Iranian people and its government have always been beside the Afghan people. Unfortunately, bitter incidents took place following the ejection of alien forces from Afghanistan, paving the way for the domination of groups which tarnished the image of Afghanistan and that of Islam," Karroubi said, in reference to the Taliban rule after the pullout of the Soviet forces.