Iran and Afghanistan: Rivals, Neighbours, Partners

Few countries across the wider Central Asian and Middle Eastern region have attracted as much international attention in recent years as Iran and Afghanistan. Both have become increasingly isolated from much of the Western-led international system, albeit for very different reasons. Yet despite their shared position on its margins, the two countries are far from natural allies. Their relationship has instead been shaped by more than four decades of ideological rivalry, security concerns, economic interdependence and, above all, geographic necessity.

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