ABSTRACT
One of the most serious problems in Afghanistan-Iran relations was the Helmand River dispute. Then prime minister of Afghanistan, Daoud Khan, intended to unite Pashtun-dominated areas in Pakistan with Afghanistan. During the conflict in Syria, Iran helped to recruit Shi'a fighters, among others, from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Iran may profit from the recent tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to Nikolay Kozhanov, the calculations of New Delhi were relatively simple: as long as Pakistan remained one of the main opponents of India there would be no alternative to the Iranian safe route to Afghanistan and post-Soviet Central Asia. The Iranian port of Chabahar clearly plays a very significant role in this case, as it provides an alternative for trade between India and Afghanistan. Soon after, Saudi Arabia had severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016, and then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited both Tehran and Riyadh in an attempt to mediate between two conflicting parties.
