Iran says opposes foreign presence in Afghanistan

TEHRAN: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says his country opposes the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan and the region.

A Sunday report by the official IRNA news agency quotes Rouhani as telling visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai: "We believe that all foreign forces should leave the region and that the security of Afghanistan should be handed over to people of the country."

Iran has long opposed a planned agreement to allow U.S. forces to remain stationed on its doorstep in neighboring Afghanistan. The two countries have about 945 kilometers (580 miles) of common borders.

The United States is pressing Karzai to sign the deal to extend its military presence past 2014, when NATO and United Nations mandates expire and all foreign troops leave the country.