The Iranian regime’s ties with Taliban

The Iranian regime’s ties with Taliban

The Iranian regime's consulate building in Afghanistan

Reported by PMOI/MEK

Jan. 2, 2019 - Fazal Rahman Khadem, the director of terrorism for the Police Headquarters of Herat, Afghanistan, revealed that the Iranian regime’s consulate is behind the murder of his brother.

Fazil Rahman Khadem stated, “All the serial targeted attacks in Herat took place on the directives of Mahmood Afkhami Rashidi, the Iranian high consul general in the province.”

Over 134 persons were arrested in connection with the targeted murders. “Most of the detainees confessed that they targeted iconic personalities and high-ranking security officials in Herat by the directives of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s security agents,” he added.

Some of the Herat Provincial Council members confirmed that neighboring countries interfere in Afghanistan’s domestic issues. They believe that there are specific political interests behind terrorist plots in the province.

Recently, state-run Iranian media aired more news in this regard. The media published news about detailed negotiations of the Iranian regime with the Taliban in the capital Tehran. According to the Iran's state-run media, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi stated on December 31 that a Taliban delegation was in Tehran on December 30 and had “detailed” negotiations with a delegation from Tehran headed by the deputy Foreign Ministry Abbas Araghchi. “I confirm. After the visit of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani to Afghanistan, we hosted a Taliban delegation in Tehran, who had detailed negotiations with Abbas Araghchi,” Ghasemi stated.

It is worth mentioning that the terrorist Quds Force’s news agency Tasnim had aired news previously about the relation between Taliban and Tehran. According to Tasnim, on May 18, a political delegation from Taliban left Qatar for Tehran and discussed the Afghan immigration issue with the regime’s security officials. However, the then-spokesman for Rouhani's cabinet Mohammad Bagher Nobakht had considered it unwise and said he knew nothing about the issue.

The U.S. is also accusing the Iranian regime of supporting the Taliban. On October 23, 2018, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned eight people, including two Iranians, with ties to IRGC Quds Force for supporting Taliban in Afghanistan. “Iran’s provision of military training, financing, and weapons to the Taliban is yet another example of Tehran’s blatant regional meddling and support for terrorism,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “The United States and our partners will not tolerate the Iranian regime exploiting Afghanistan to further their destabilizing behavior.”

In September 2018, Le Figaro also quoted a Taliban commander saying Iran’s financial and military provisions to the Taliban have increased unprecedentedly during the past months and this help coincides with the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. The commander also said that Taliban forces have been trained in IRGC Quds Force’s bases in Iran in recent years. According to the report by Le Figaro, the regime is trying to establish a militant group in Afghanistan as it did in Lebanon. The commander also stipulated that the regime is granting the Taliban two times more than what the Taliban asks for, but in return, the Iranian regime tasks Taliban to intensify its attacks against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

The Figaro’s report also sheds light on Taliban training in Iran. The Taliban commander revealed that the Taliban is training in IRGC Quds Force’s bases. Their training includes military martial arts, intelligence and strategic subjects, producing IEDs and lessons on conducting suicide bombings. The commander added that suicide attackers enjoy more benefits than others and the Iranian regime grants their families Iran’s residency permission.

The training bases are located near the Iran-Turkmenistan border in Iran and some are located near Mashhad city northeast Iran. The Taliban commander could not hide his surprise when he talked about the presence of Russian army personnel who provide Taliban assault rifles and military equipment. 

Alongside with these measures, the Iranian regime is trying to form a militant Shia group from Hazaras Shia ethnic group who are joining Fatemiyoun Division. The Fatemiyoun Division, also known as Hezbollah Afghanistan, is an IRGC-made Afghan Shia militia founded in 2014. IRGC trains and dispatches them to fight in Syria in support of the dictator of Syria Bashar al-Assad.