Iran’s Permanent Representative at the UN, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, in an address to the United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday said any peace process for Afghanistan should be UN-facilitated, Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.

He said the Afghan government should have a central role in all peace efforts and any peace agreement should be concluded with its participation.

“We call on the regional and international players to support such a peace process and allow the future of Afghanistan to be determined exclusively by the Afghans themselves,” Mr. Takht-Ravanchi said as quoted by Iran’s Mehr news agency.

“No country has the right to decide for the future of Afghanistan and any peace negotiation in the absence of Afghanistan government and political factions of the country or in a unilateral, exclusive and nontransparent manner is doomed to fail,” he stressed.

He said Afghanistan is passing through a critical juncture and there are alarming trends in its political and security domains. Numerous efforts are being made to hold successful presidential election on September 28 this year, however, there are attempts to undermine this important event.

“Holding a free and fair presidential election can further enhance the democratic institutions of this country. We call on the United Nations and the international community to support holding the election as scheduled,” he mentioned.

The Iranian envoy said Iran urges all Afghan parties and political groups as well as all Afghans eligible to vote to actively participate in the election as it is essential for the improvement of the security and socio-economic conditions of Afghanistan.

This comes as representatives of world powers at the UN on Tuesday urged the US and the Taliban to stick to their commitments and resume the peace negotiations few days after US President Donald Trump called off the talks with the militant group.

The envoys who addressed the United Nations Security Council reiterated that the only solution to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan is a political settlement.