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Iran's Ahmadinejad to visit Afghanistan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has blamed problems in Afghanistan on foreign troops.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has blamed problems in Afghanistan on foreign troops.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Ahmadinejad's trip date was delayed two days for unspecified reasons
  • Original schedule coincided with visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates
  • Ahmadinejad has blamed problems in Afghanistan on foreign troops
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(CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to visit Afghanistan on Wednesday, a government spokesman said.

Ahmadinejad had planned to visit Afghanistan Monday -- the same day U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit -- but those plans were postponed for unspecified reasons.

The Iranian president plans to travel to Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, said Ramin Mehmanparast, a spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He did not offer additional details.

Ahmadinejad plans to meet high-ranking Afghan officials on his visit, the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency reported this week, before Mehmanparast announced the new Wednesday date.

Ahmadinejad has blamed the "problems in its eastern neighbor" on foreign troops there, according to the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency.

Before the new date was announced, that agency reported that Ahmadinejad planned to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.