DHAKA: Afghan president Hamid Karzai arrived in Iran for talks Sunday amid disagreement with the United States over a security accord that would allow some NATO forces to stay in Afghanistan.

Karzai will meet president Hassan Rouhani, for the second time in four months in Tehran, and foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the official IRNA news agency reported, says daily Hurriyet.

The proposed deal allowing NATO troops to operate in Afghanistan after 2014 will be discussed during the talks, according to the ISNA news agency.

Tehran strongly backs Karzai’s stance in refusing to sign the deal.

His trip comes a day after an awkward visit to Kabul by US defence secretary Chuck Hagel amid growing disagreement with the Afghan president over the long-delayed security accord.

Hagel did not meet Karzai, which would have been customary for a Pentagon chief, saying that Kabul was already aware of the US position.

Washington and its allies have appealed to Karzai to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA).

The security agreement sets the legal conditions to permit roughly 12,000 NATO troops, mostly American, to remain in Afghanistan.

BDST: 1800 HRS, DEC 08, 2013