TEHRAN, May 11 (UPI) -- Afghanistan's President Hamed Karzai is to visit Iran next month.
The Fars news agency reported on May 9 that a highly placed Afghan source said that Karzai would be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta.
The scheduled visit is the result of an official invitation from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It will be Karzai's first state visit to Iran.
Last year Karzai was scheduled to attend a trilateral meeting in Tehran along with Tajik President Imam Ali Rahmanov, but did not do so.
Karzai's visit comes amidst increasing turmoil in Afghanistan. On Thursday the Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera aired a video of Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar pledging to support Osama bin Laden. Speaking in Arabic Hekmatyar said, "We hope to participate with ...(al-Qaida) in a battle that they lead. They hold the banner and we stand alongside them as supporters."
