Panjshir Resistance Holds as Taliban yet to Name Government

Afghan resistance forces in the Panjshir valley are holding out against the Taliban. (AFP)
Afghan resistance forces in the Panjshir valley are holding out against the Taliban. (AFP)
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Panjshir Resistance Holds as Taliban yet to Name Government

Afghan resistance forces in the Panjshir valley are holding out against the Taliban. (AFP)
Afghan resistance forces in the Panjshir valley are holding out against the Taliban. (AFP)

Fresh fighting was reported Saturday between the Taliban and resistance forces in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley, as the extremists finalize a new government that will set the tone for their rule.

Facing the challenge of morphing from insurgents to rulers, the Taliban appear determined to snuff out the Panjshir resistance before announcing who will lead the country in the aftermath of Monday’s US troop withdrawal, which was supposed to end two decades of war.

But Panjshir, which held out for nearly a decade against the Soviet Union’s occupation and also the Taliban’s first rule from 1996-2001, is stubbornly holding out.

Fighters from the so-called National Resistance Front (NRF) -- made up of anti-Taliban militia and former Afghan security forces -- are understood to have stockpiled a significant armory in the valley, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Kabul and guarded by a narrow gorge.

‘Under invasion’
Celebratory gunfire rang out in the capital Kabul overnight as rumors spread the valley had fallen, but the Taliban made no official claim Saturday and a resident told AFP by phone that the reports were false.

The Emergency Hospital in Kabul said two people were killed and 20 wounded by the salvos, as the Taliban tweeted a stern admonishment and warned its fighters to stop.

“Avoid firing in the air and thank God instead,” said chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, tipped to become the new regime’s information minister.

“The weapons and bullets given to you are public property. No one has the right to waste them. The bullets can also harm civilians, don’t shoot in vain.”

In Panjshir, former vice-president Amrullah Saleh, holed out alongside Ahmad Massoud -- the son of legendary anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud -- admitted the perilous position of the NRF.

“The situation is difficult, we have been under invasion,” Saleh said in a video message.

Usually known for his sharp Western suits, Saleh was filmed wearing a traditional shalwar kameez tunic and a flat woolen pakol cap favored by Panjshiris.

“The resistance is continuing and will continue,” he added.

Taliban and resistance tweets suggested the key district of Paryan had changed hands several times in the last few days, but that also could not be independently verified.

Aid talks
Away from the valley, the international community was coming to terms with having to deal with the new Taliban regime with a flurry of diplomacy.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due on Sunday in Qatar, a key player in the Afghan saga and the location of the Taliban’s political office, though he is not expected to meet with the militants.

He will then travel to Germany, to lead a virtual 20-nation ministerial meeting on Afghanistan alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

Pakistan’s intelligence chief Faiz Hameed was in Kabul, meanwhile. Hameed was reportedly in the city to be briefed by his country’s ambassador but is also likely to meet top Taliban officials with whom Islamabad has historically had very close relations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also set to convene a high-level meeting on Afghanistan in Geneva on September 13, to focus on humanitarian assistance for the country.

The United Nations has already restarted humanitarian flights to parts of Afghanistan, while the country’s flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines resumed domestic trips on Friday and the United Arab Emirates sent a plane carrying “urgent medical and food aid”.

Western Union and Moneygram, meanwhile, said they were restarting cash transfers, which many Afghans rely on from relatives abroad to survive.

China has already confirmed it will keep its embassy in Kabul open.

Afghanistan’s new rulers have pledged to be more accommodating than during their first stint in power, which also came after years of conflict -- first the Soviet invasion of 1979, and then a bloody civil war.

That regime was notorious for its brutal interpretation of Islamic law, and its treatment of women, who were forced inside and denied access to school and work.

This time around, the Taliban have made repeated declarations that they will not carry out revenge attacks on opponents, and women will have access to education and some employment.

They have promised a more “inclusive” government that represents Afghanistan’s complex ethnic makeup -- though women are unlikely to be included at the top levels.

In Kabul, dozens of women protested for a second day Saturday to demand the right to work and inclusion in the government.

Social media clips showed Taliban fighters and officials attempting to disperse the demonstrators and stopping people from filming with mobile phones.

Asked about the delay in naming the government, Australia-based Afghanistan expert Nishank Motwani told AFP it was likely a combination of factors.

“First reason is that the Taliban themselves have been stunned by their military success,” he said.

“If they get Panjshir before the government is formed it is good for their propaganda value but that is not the reason.”



Two US Sources: Iran Made Preparations to Mine Strait of Hormuz

A huge tanker sails past Khasab, on northern Oman's Musandam Peninsula, in the Strait of Hormuz, on June 24, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)
A huge tanker sails past Khasab, on northern Oman's Musandam Peninsula, in the Strait of Hormuz, on June 24, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)
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Two US Sources: Iran Made Preparations to Mine Strait of Hormuz

A huge tanker sails past Khasab, on northern Oman's Musandam Peninsula, in the Strait of Hormuz, on June 24, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)
A huge tanker sails past Khasab, on northern Oman's Musandam Peninsula, in the Strait of Hormuz, on June 24, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)

The Iranian military loaded naval mines onto vessels in the Arabian Gulf last month, a move that intensified concerns in Washington that Tehran was gearing up to blockade the Strait of Hormuz following Israel’s strikes on sites across Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

The previously unreported preparations, which were detected by US intelligence, occurred some time after Israel launched its initial missile attack against Iran on June 13, said the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

The loading of the mines - which have not been deployed in the strait - suggests that Tehran may have been serious about closing one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, a move that would have escalated an already-spiraling conflict and severely hobbled global commerce.

About one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz and a blockage would likely have spiked world energy prices.

Global benchmark oil prices have instead fallen more than 10% since the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, driven in part by relief that the conflict did not trigger significant disruptions in the oil trade.

On June 22, shortly after the US bombed three of Iran's key nuclear sites in a bid to cripple Tehran's nuclear program, Iran's parliament reportedly backed a measure to block the strait.

That decision was not binding, and it was up to Iran's Supreme National Security Council to make a final decision on the closure, Iran's Press TV said at the time. Iran has over the years threatened to close the strait but has never followed through on that threat.

Reuters was not able to determine precisely when during the Israel-Iran air war Tehran loaded the mines, which - if deployed - would have effectively stopped ships from moving through the key thoroughfare.

It is also unclear if the mines have since been unloaded.

The sources did not disclose how the United States determined that the mines had been put on the Iranian vessels, but such intelligence is typically gathered through satellite imagery, clandestine human sources or a combination of both methods.

Asked for comment about Iran's preparations, a White House official said: “Thanks to the President’s brilliant execution of Operation Midnight Hammer, successful campaign against the Houthis, and maximum pressure campaign, the Strait of Hormuz remains open, freedom of navigation has been restored, and Iran has been significantly weakened.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Iranian mission at the United Nations also did not respond to requests for comment.

The two officials said the US government has not ruled out the possibility that loading the mines was a ruse. The Iranians could have prepared the mines to convince Washington that Tehran was serious about closing the strait, but without intending to do so, the officials said.

Iran's military could have also simply been making necessary preparations in the event that Iran's leaders gave the order.

The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman and Iran and links the Arabian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond.

It is 21 miles (34 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just 2 miles wide in either direction.

Iran exports most of its crude through the passage, which in theory limits Tehran's appetite to shut the strait. But Tehran has nonetheless dedicated significant resources to making sure it can do so if it deems necessary.

As of 2019, Iran maintained more than 5,000 naval mines, which could be rapidly deployed with the help of small, high-speed boats, the US Defense Intelligence Agency estimated at the time.

The US Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, is charged with protecting commerce in the region. The US Navy has typically kept four mine countermeasure vessels, or MCM vessels, in Bahrain, though those ships are being replaced by another type of vessel called a littoral combat ship, or LCS, which also has anti-mine capabilities.

All anti-mine ships had been temporarily removed from Bahrain in the days leading up to the US strikes on Iran in anticipation of a potential retaliatory attack on Fifth Fleet headquarters.

Ultimately, Iran's immediate retaliation was limited to a missile attack on a US military base in nearby Qatar.

US officials, however, have not ruled out further retaliatory measures by Iran.