U.S. 'failed' in Afghanistan, Iran Foreign Minister says amid Taliban, Afghan peace talks

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

48% : Iran and Afghanistan share deep cultural ties and a 945-kilometer-long (587 miles) border.
47% : Iran on Wednesday hosted the first significant talks in months between the Taliban and Afghan government representatives -- a previously unannounced meeting that comes as the U.S. completes its withdrawal from Afghanistan and districts increasingly fall to the Taliban across the country.
47% : Iran, the Shiite powerhouse of the Middle East, has occasionally in the past hosted the Sunni militant Taliban and Afghan government officials in Tehran for peace talks.
44% : The surge in fighting -- and the sudden news of peace talks in Tehran -- come at a critical time for the war-battered country.
43% : Amid the specter of another civil war, fears have grown in Iran over a new wave of Afghans seeking refuge in the country, which already is struggling to stem worsening poverty under tough U.S. sanctions.
42% : In playing host, Iran seeks counterbalance against regional rivals like Saudi Arabia that typically wield greater influence over Sunni groups in the Middle East.
41% : The Taliban's recent territorial gains also have fueled national security concerns in Iran.
40% : Tehran has historically viewed U.S. military presence in neighboring countries as a threat and pushed for American troop withdrawals from the region.
39% : After the "failure of the U.S. in Afghanistan," Zarif said, Iran stands "ready to assist the dialogue" and to "resolve the current conflicts in the country."
39% : Even as officials faced each other across the vast tables in Tehran and Iran's top diplomat pledged to end the crisis, fighting surged in Afghanistan's western Badghis province.
34% : Afghanistan's uncertain path toward peace bears profound consequences for its western neighbor Iran, which the U.N. estimates hosts some 2 million undocumented Afghans.

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