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Iranian president in Afghanistan Iran president in key Afghan trip
(40 minutes later)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is shortly expected to meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in Kabul. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in Kabul for talks with Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.
It is the Iranian president's first visit to the neighbouring country since Mr Ahmadinejad and Mr Karzai were re-elected last year. It is Mr Ahmadinejad's first visit to Afghanistan since both men were re-elected last year.
Later, the Afghan president will head to Pakistan for a two day visit. The US has criticised Iran for offering the Taliban low-level-support, while Tehran says Afghanistan's problems will only end when foreign troops leave.
President Karzai has been criticised for not doing enough to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, to end the conflict in Afghanistan. Later, Mr Karzai will hold talks with another key neighbour when he heads to Pakistan for a two day visit.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Kabul, says the co-operation of Iran and Pakistan is thought critical to any such deal. 'Double game'
Tehran has been criticised by the United States for offering "low level support" and money to the Taliban, a claim Iran denies. A spokesman for Mr Karzai said the Iranian and Afghan presidents would discuss the "expansion of economic relations", including a railway line from Tajikistan through Afghanistan to Iran.
But with the recent capture of leading Taliban figures, Pakistan has shown its co-operation will be essential to ending the insurgency in Afghanistan, our correspondent adds. Mr Ahmadinejad's visit to Afghanistan coincides with one by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who is reviewing the progress of the current Western troop surge against the Taliban.
Mr Karzai will later head to Pakistan for key talks
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Kabul, says the US and Iran have very different views of Tehran's role in Afghanistan.
Mr Gates has accused Tehran of "playing a double game" of offering friendship to the Afghan government while at the same time giving "low level support" and money to the Taliban.
Iran denies the allegations. It says all of Afghanistan's problems stem from the presence of foreign troops and they should all leave.
Mr Ahmadinejad has always argued that Iran has supported the Afghan political process and that Tehran needs a stable and secure Afghanistan.
Mr Karzai will hold a press conference with Mr Ahmadinejad later on Wednesday before heading to Pakistan.
Pakistan has been accused in the past of giving safe haven to the Afghan Taliban but has recently stepped up its drive to arrest Taliban leaders, including alleged second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says Mr Karzai will want the leaders extradited, while Pakistan will argue for more involvement in regional strategy, particularly if Western troops do begin to leave Afghanistan.
Later on Wednesday, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband is expected to deliver a speech in the US, urging President Karzai to do more to find a political solution to the conflict with the Taliban.Later on Wednesday, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband is expected to deliver a speech in the US, urging President Karzai to do more to find a political solution to the conflict with the Taliban.
The military effort alone will not be enough to resolve the conflict, he is expected to say, and Afghanistan's neighbours will need to play a central role in securing peace in the country.The military effort alone will not be enough to resolve the conflict, he is expected to say, and Afghanistan's neighbours will need to play a central role in securing peace in the country.