Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi reassured Monday Tehran’s objection to the retaining presence of international forces in neighboring Afghanistan after NATO combat troops pull out in 2014.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi reassured Monday Tehran's objection to the retaining presence of international forces in neighboring Afghanistan after NATO combat troops pull out in 2014.

Speaking at a conference on the future of the war-ravaged country after the withdrawal, Salehi said that "certain Western countries are attempting to enlarge their influence in Afghanistan after 2014 with their military presence, which contradicts efforts to support peace and security.”

"We think that any regional or international initiative to re-establish peace in Afghanistan can only succeed if the possibility of maintaining foreign troops there is rejected,” the Iranian Foreign Minister stressed, indicating that “Iran would continue to contribute to Afghanistan's reconstruction and extends the offer of cooperation to other countries for this aim.”

Salehi further pointed out that “the international troops' presence over the last decade had done nothing to diminish the development of terrorism or establish peace in Afghanistan.”