Addressing a joint news conference with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed U.S. allegations that Tehran supplies weapons and ammunition to the extremist Taliban movement, deposed by coalition forces in 2001.
A 37,000-strong NATO contingent, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), has been based in Afghanistan since 2002, and a U.S. contingent is conducting Operation Enduring Freedom fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the country.
Ahmadinejad's one-day visit to Kabul produced five agreements on bilateral cooperation and a joint statement in which the countries pledged to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, in veterinary issues, road building, and research in geological prospecting and mine drilling.
Afghanistan was the first leg of Ahmadinejad's tour, which also involves energy-rich Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. At his final destination, Kyrgyzstan, the Iranian leader will participate in the seventh session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization where his country has observer status.
