The war in Afghanistan began with the Soviet intervention and geopolitical developments of this crisis somehow attracted all the claiming actors of the international system. In this article, the authors have analysed the role of Russia and Iran by acknowledging the role of local causes and the other actors such as the United States, China, India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia in complicating the Afghanistan crisis. The difference between the role of Russia and Iran and that of other countries is that the two countries are trying to drive the US out of Afghanistan. That is, although they also have secondary goals, their priority is to make Afghanistan unsafe for the United States. The authors are thus trying to answer this question: “in a long process what steps have been taken by Russia and Iran to neutralize the US in Afghanistan so far?”
Aftabnews (2016) “Araghchi: If sanctions intensify, we might ask Afghan sister and brothers to leave Iran” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at <https://aftabnews.ir/fa/news/588769/>. Accessed on 26.09.2019.
Akbarzadeh, Shahram (2014) “Iran’s policy towards Afghanistan: in the shadow of the United States”. Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs 1, 1, 63–78.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2347797013518402
Allen, Nick (2014) “Russia, the USSR and Afghanistan, yesterday and today, Russia beyond the headlines”. Russia Beyond. Available online at
<https://www.rbth.com/longreads/afghanistan/>. Accessed on 07.09.2019.
Aman, Fatemeh (2016) “Water dispute escalating between Iran and Afghanistan”. Issue Brief, Atlantic Council.
Asatryan, Georgi E. (2018) “What does Russia want from Afghanistan” [Translated from Persian]. Eastern Iran. Available online at
<http://easterniran.com/fa/doc/note/1456/>. Accessed on 05.09.2019.
Asriran (2011) “Azerbaijani-Armenian War: did Iran send Afghan fighters to the region?” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at
<https://www.asriran.com/fa/news/165286>. Accessed on 17.11.2019.
BBC (2016) “Pakistan hosts four-way Afghanistan peace talks”. Available online at
<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35279283>. Accessed on 29.05.2019.
Beehner, Lionel (2006) “Afghanistan’s role in Iran’s drug problem, the Council on Foreign Relations”. Council on Foreign Relations. Available online at
<https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/afghanistans-role-irans-drug-problem>. Accessed on 30 November 2019.
Boulverdi, Majid (2005) “Drug production in Afghanistan and its impact on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s security” [Translated from Persian]. Central Asia and the Caucasus Studies 49, 205–216.
Brattvoll, Jokim (2016) “Is Russia back in Afghanistan?”. PRIO Policy Brief 4. Peace Research Institute Oslo.
CSIS (2018) “Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K)”. Available online at
<https://www.csis.org/programs/transnational-threats-project/terrorism-backgrounders/islamic-state-khorasan-k>. Accessed on 26.12.2019.
Dobaev, Igor and Alexander Dugin (2005) “Geopolitical transformations in the Caucasian-Caspian region”. Central Asia and Caucasus 35, 5, 71–75.
Dubnov, Arkady (2018) “What game is Russia playing in Afghanistan?”. Al-Jazeera, Available online at
<https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/game-russia-playing-afghanistan-181113160715311.html>. Accessed on 15.04.2019.
DW (2016) “What are the goals of Russia and Iran to expand ties with the Taliban?” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at
<https://www.dw.com/fa-af/a-36938283>. Accessed on 22.09.2019.
Evsikov, Egor (2009) “Soviet intelligence in Afghanistan: the only efficient tool of the Politburo”. Baltic Security & Defence Review 11, 41–57.
France24 (2016) “Afghan Taliban ‘seizes control of Central Kunduz’”. Available online at
<https://www.france24.com/en/20161003-afghanistan-taliban-seizes-control-central-kunduz>. Accessed on 22.08.2019.
Galeotti, Mark (2016) “Narcotics and nationalism: Russian drug policies and futures”. Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Brookings Institution.
Hurley, Daniel (2018) “Russia invites Taliban to talk peace, the Sigma Iota Rho (SIR)”. Journal of International Relations. Available online at
<http://www.sirjournal.org/blogs/2018/8/27/russia-invites-taliban-to-talk-peace>. Accessed on 24.12.2019.
Islamic World News (2018) “Karabakh is Islamic! In the name of the anniversary of the Aghdam’s fall” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at
<https://iswnews.com/13399/>. Accessed on 17.11.2019.
Menkiszak, Marek and Katarzyna Jarzyńska (2011) “Russia’s Afghan problem: the Russian Federation and the Afghanistan problem since 2001”. (OSW Studies, 38.) Warsaw: Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia / Centre for Eastern Studies.
Khabar Online (2019) “Three main reasons in increasing divorce in the metropolitans” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at
<https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1225674/>. Accessed on 29.06.2019.
Koepe, Bruce (2013) “Iran’s policy on Afghanistan; the evolution of strategic pragmatism”. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Lefeuvre, Georges (2019) “Back to the Great Game”. Le Monde Diplomatique. Available online at
<https://mondediplo.com/2019/04/04afghanistan>. Accessed on 24.09.2019.
Marshall, Alexander (2014) “From drug war to culture war: Russia’s growing role in the global drug debate”. Policy Brief 5. Global Drug Policy Observatory, Swansea University.
Mashreghnews (2015) “The Fatimid Brigade became a division” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at
<https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/418855>. Accessed on 17.08.2019.
Mashreghnews (2018) “Why Iran publicized the talks with group like the Taliban?” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at
<https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/923694>. Accessed on 28.12.2019.
Milani, Mohsen M. (2006) “Iran’s policy towards Afghanistan”. Middle East Journal 60, 2, 235–256.
https://doi.org/10.3751/60.2.12
Nader, Alireza and Joya Laha (2011) “Iran’s balancing act in Afghanistan”. RAND Corporation.
Noorzoy, M. S. (1985) “Long-term economic relations between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union: an interpretive study”. International Journal of Middle East Studies 17, 2, 151–173.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743800028981
O’Flynn, Kevin (2001) “Russia in multi-million arms deal with Northern Alliance”. The Guardian, Available online at
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/23/afghanistan.russia>. Accessed on 22.09.2019.
Payind, Alam (1989) “Soviet-Afghan relations from cooperation to occupation”. International Journal of Middle East Studies 21, 1, 107–128.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S002074380003213X
Pear, Robert (1988) “Arming Afghan guerrillas: a huge effort led by U.S.”. The New York Times, Available online at
<https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/18/world/arming-afghan-guerrillas-a-huge-effort-led-by-us.html>. Accessed on 25.10.2019.
Reuters (2019) “Iran says Taliban must have Afghan role, but can’t dominate”. Available online at
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-talks-iran/iran-says-taliban-must-have-afghan-role-but-cant-dominate-idUSKCN1P311Z>. Accessed on 12.11.2019.
Roth, Andrew (2018) “Russia hosts talks between Taliban and Afghan Peace Council”. The Guardian, Available online at
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/09/russia-hosts-talks-between-taliban-and-afghan-peace-council>. Accessed on 12.05.2019.
Saikal, Amin (2010) “Islamism, the Iranian Revolution, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan”, In Melvyn P. Leffler, ed. 112–114, The Cambridge History of the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521837217.007
Sanga, Kaneshko (2016) “Afghanistan’s significance for Russia in the 21st century: interests, perceptions and perspectives”. Politics in Central Europe 12, 1, 59–82.
https://doi.org/10.1515/pce-2016-0004
Shafaei, Nozar (2004) “Strategic assessment of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Foreign Policy in Afghanistan” [Translated from Persian]. Motaleat_e Rahbordi 6, 22, 827–51
Shahidrasul (2016) “Information on Hezbollah’s unknown war in Bosnia” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at
<http://shahidrasul.ir/1394/12>. Accessed on 17.12.2019.
Slavin, Barbara (2005) “Iran helped overthrow Taliban, candidate says”. USA Today, Available online at
<http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-06-09-iran-taliban_x.htm>. Accessed on 18.10.2019.
Sputnik (2019) “Talks with Russian ambassador to Kabul: the behavior of Ashraf Ghani about peace is strange” [Translated from Dari]. Available online at
<https://af.sputniknews.com/opinion/201902143122006>. Accessed on 20.04.2019.
Stepanova, Ekaterina (2018) “Russia’s Afghan policy in the regional and Russia-West contexts”. Russie. NEI. Reports 23, 2018, 27.
Tasnimnews (2019) “Major General Safavi: Afghanistan is a source of water disputes in the future” [Translated from Persian]. Available online at
<https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1396/12/08/1667572/>. Accessed on 25.06.2019.
The Telegraph (2009) “Russia is ‘world’s biggest consumer of heroin’”. Available online at
<https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/4970761/Russia-is-worlds-biggest-consumer-of-heroin.html>. Accessed on 27.12.2019.
UNODC (2010) “World drug report 2010”. United Nations Publication, Sales No. E.10.XI.13.
Worden, Scott (2018) “Iran and Afghanistan’s long, complicated history”. U.S. Institute of Peace.Available online at
<https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2018/jun/12/part-i-iran-and-south-asia%E2%80%94afghanistan>. Accessed on 15.12.2019.
Xiaochuan, Dong (2016) “The hidden hands Soviet-Afghan war 1979–89, U.S policy, and external actors”. American International Journal of Contemporary Research 6, 3, 143–158.
Ziganshina, Dinara (2014) Promoting transboundary water security in the Aral Sea Basin through international law. Leiden: Brill Nijhoff.
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004274266_010
