US intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, the CNN reported.
The US intelligence has identified payments linked to at least six attacks carried out by the militant group just last year, including a suicide bombing at a US airbase in December.
Bounties were paid by a foreign government, identified to Iran and the dreaded Pakistan Army backed, Haqqani network. The Haqqani network is the most important terrorist group within the Taliban and that is led by the second-highest-ranking leader of the Taliban, Sirajuddin Haqqani.
However, to ensure the US-Taliban deal is further not strained, the name of the foreign government that made these payments remains classified, but Iran is the likely suspect.
Right after the attack on the Bagram airbase, the US killed a key Iranian General Qassim Soleimani in Iraq less than a month after the attack.
As America is less than 100 days from the most crucial elections in generations, the revelation that Iran might have paid the Taliban and also the controversy over Russian bounties for attacks on American troops could make the mercurial Trump take some rash decision because he has consistently downplayed any Russian involvement.
Trump has gone to great length to accommodate the Taliban at the expense of the elected government in the Kabul.
As part of the deal, the Pentagon says the US has withdrawn from 5 bases in Afghanistan as part of an agreement with Taliban.
The State Department declined to answer questions about Iran’s purported role in the December 11 attack on Bagram but told CNN that Tehran’s “support to some elements of the Taliban has threatened to undermine the peace process in Afghanistan.””Iran has tried to use proxy groups to carry out the Iranian regime’s own nefarious agenda, and it would be a mistake for any faction of the Taliban to get entangled in Iran’s dirty work,” they added, noting that the Trump administration “remains committed to addressing the full range of threats Iran poses to the US and regional stability. “