Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met in Kabul with the director of the Security Council of Iran.

Saturday's talks with Sayeed Jaleeli took place two days before Mr. Karzai leaves for Washington, where he will hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.

During the Kabul meeting, President Karzai said Afghanistan and Iran are two brother countries sharing a language and culture and that they have the same fate.

Jaleeli said relations between Afghanistan and Iran are good and that both countries have a common history and culture. He said Iran wants bilateral relations to become stronger.

President Karzai and Jaleeli met at the presidential palace in the Afghan capital to discuss expanding bilateral relations, economic and political cooperation, and the situation in the region.

Mr. Karzai and Jaleeli also agreed to launch three-party talks with India. They did not reveal when those talks would take place.