Afghanistan–Iran relations

Afghanistan-Iran relations

Afghanistan	Iran

Afghanistan–Iran relations were established in 1935 during King Zahir Shah's reign and the Pahlavi dynasty of Persia. They have been negatively affected by the 1979 Iranian Revolution and issues related to the 1978–present Afghan conflicts (i.e. Mujahideen, Afghan refugees, and Taliban), as well as Iran's water dispute, the growing influence of the United States in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan shares a relatively long history with Iran (called Persia in the West before 1935). When the Safavid dynasty was founded in Persia, part of what is now Afghanistan was ruled by the Khanate of Bukhara and Babur from Kabulistan. The first Iranian Safavid Shah Shah Ismail I quickly expanded his empire in all directions, in which he also conquered large parts of nowadays Afghanistan. For centuries they ruled the region and the Safavids didn't have any problems at first ruling the eastern most territories of their empire, but their policy towards non-Shia subjects became worse and worse over time. Wars began between the Shia Safavids and the larger Sunnis, particularly in the Old Kandahar region. By the late 17th century, the Safavids were heavily declining. They had appointed their Georgian subject Gurgin Khan as governor of Kandahar in order to forcefully convert the Afghans from Sunni Islam to Shia Islam. This went with much oppression and violence. It remained this way until the rise of Mir Wais Hotak, a well-respected Sunni Ghilzai Pashtun tribal chief. Mir Wais succeeded in defeating the declining Safavids in a succession of battles and declared southern Afghanistan a completely independent country. His son Mahmud conquered Persia for a short time in 1722, while it was ridden by civil strife and foreign interests from the Safavids their arch rivals, the Ottomans and the Russians. and soon after the Safavid dynasty ended.

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