Afghanistan, a land with unique ethnic and geopolitical complications and a unique geography, has spent two dangerous and sensitive years under the rule of Taliban.
Two years ago, on August 15, 2021, with the collusion of President Ashraf Ghani’s government with the United States, and betrayal by Afghan statesmen, the Biden administration backed the transition of power in the country. The forces of Taliban faced no resistance as they entered the presidential Arg in Kabul and seized power. The West has been a primary backer and encourager of republicanism whose foundation is government of people over people via elections and reference to the public vote. But, with Taliban, this was simply ignored and destroyed overnight.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, which has one of the longest land borders with Afghanistan, has not recognized the rule of Taliban like most countries in the world. But its interest lies in there being no elections in Afghanistan. From the perspective of the rulers of Tehran, the current political conditions in Afghanistan are ideal.
When Kabul fell and officials of the former government and the defenseless people were massacred by Taliban, the Iranian regime was silent. Why?
In the last few months, border clashes between the Taliban and Iranian border guards led to the killing of one of the former. This has provoked the sentiments of the Iranian nation. Why didn’t the Iranian state do anything to punish Taliban? Did it not have the ability?
The Iranian media were filled with news about Taliban cutting Iran’s share of the Hirmand (Helmand) river and related these clashes to that long-running water dispute.
The Iranian regime hosted Al Qaeda leaders when they fled Afghanistan in 2001 (CIA has confirmed this). According to intelligence services, Saif al-Adl, Al Qaeda’s current leader, is also in Iran.
Let me put it more bluntly: The Iranian regime has an up close relationship with the Taliban and the latter’s seizure of power is in line with the interests of the Tehran regime. The presence of Al Qaeda forces in Iran will further guarantee the relationship of Taliban and the Iranian regime.
In order to advance its regional policies and support the militias dependent on it, the Islamic Republic of Iran needs to collaborate with the terror group Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
The most profitable and easiest way of gaining income is smuggling of drugs. Working with the drug mafia in Afghanistan, the IRGC can easily support its allied militias and this is why it’s working with armed and strong cartels that distribute and sell drugs.
Another important part of border transactions between the regimes of Tehran and Kabul, which takes place over the Nimruz border, is smuggling of left-over US weapons from Afghanistan into Iran. This is another way of gaining income for both the Taliban and the Iranian regime.
Following its hasty leaving of Afghanistan, the Biden administration left billions of dollars worth of modern American weapons in the country. These weapons were used for repression and killing of popular resistant groups and they are now partially sold as a way of income for Taliban. In turn, the IRGC uses them to arm the militias it supports.
Thus, unlike what is often claimed, the border clashes between Iran and Afghanistan are not in fact over water. This is a clash between smugglers with innocent border guards who, due to lack of coordination with the IRGC, have to fight smugglers of weapons and drugs.
A few days before, Ahmad Ali Goudarzi, commander of Iran’s border guards, had spoken of border guards clashing with smugglers in the Sistan and Baluchistan province. According to him, a shipment consisting of 3300 kg of opium and 800 kg of hashish was seized at the border following a clash with the smugglers who ran away.
But the terrorist groups in Afghanistan have terroristic and destabilizing goals which means a bigger threat to the world than what we experienced in 2001.
According to official bodies, there are now more than 22 terrorist groups active in Afghanistan which present a serious security threat to the world. Additionally, trade and production of drugs makes this country amongst the biggest exporters of drugs in the world.
Growth of extremism will influence hardline youth of the region who dream of fundamentalist states and will translate into serious security threats for countries of the region. Exceptional opportunities for reconstruction and creating of an elected government and defeating extremism were lost in Afghanistan. Now even greater threats present themselves.
When we look at the events that took place in 2001, following the defeat of Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan, we can see that the Iranian regime and the person of Zalmay Khalilzad, US’s special envoy, did all they could to prevent the rise of an elected government.
Khallizad was the architect of the fall of Kabul in 2021 and return of Taliban to power. Even back in 2002, he was seeking the domination of extremist powers with extreme ethnic tendencies over Afghanistan. Worried about the rise of a popular and progressive Afghan government that would back individual, social and religious freedoms in the neighborhood, and how it could influence political events in Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran also ended up backing Khalilzad.
The collusion between the Islamic Republic and Khalilzad to prevent Mohammad Zahir Shah, a man who had returned to his country after 40 years, from playing his historic role is unforgettable and unforgivable. Zahir Shah could have been a symbol of national unity in Afghanistan and the country’s exit from the crisis.
The Islamic Republic was worried about revival of the monarchy and what Zahir Shah’s return to power and the popularity of these institutions amongst people will mean for the Iranian people. Meanwhile, Khalilzad was seeking to put some of his own trusted people in power and sought to eliminate other political rivals in Afghanistan.
Speaking in the name of the American government, Khalilzad imposed his own desires on Afghan politicians. But he also colluded with the Iranian embassy in Kabul and the IRGC to stop interference from those rival groups that followed Iran.
More than 20 years later, Khalilzad and the Islamic Republic have now reached their goal. Zahir Shah has passed away and the dream of revamping the constitutional monarchy as a way of creating unity amongst the people of this country has been buried. The Afghan Mujahideen and various groups of the northern resistance have been suppressed and brutally weakened. Despite all of this, Taliban has failed to bring about security all over the country.
Currently, terrorists from Central Asia are present in Afghanistan under the name of various groups; from Chechnya and Tajikistan to Uighurs of China, Arabs of Al Qaeda and Taliban of Pakistan and Uzbekistan. They don’t follow the policies of Taliban and seek to create their own Islamic caliphate. They use Afghanistan to hurt the rulers of their own country.
For instance, the attack on a mosque in Kunduz in 2021 was done by a Chinese Uighur. Those who perpetrated the next suicide attack in Kabul were citizens of Tajikistan.
The last year’s attack on the Shahcheragh shrine in Shiraz, which ISIS took responsibility for, had been done from Afghan territory and by foreign citizens who also hold Afghan citizenship. Some of these people were children of Afghan women and Arab men belonging to ISIS and Al Qaeda and can be considered as second-generation terrorists. They were born in Afghanistan more than 20 years ago and have grown up in the country.
We still don’t know much about the second attack on Shahcheragh but, for now, they’ve declared the attacker to have been a Tajikistani. It’s not clear how he made it to Iran and what identity papers he used.
Currently, many designated terror groups are active in Afghanistan, under the name of Taliban. Not only do they threaten security and peace in that country and the region, they can soon become a grave threat for global security too.
In the last two years, most news media have been concerned with banning Afghan women from education and work. This is a very important, thought-provoking and concerning issue. But more should be said about security concerns and terrorist activities going on in this country. Future and fate of Afghanistan, the country and the nation, is on a much grander scale than the question of women and girls working or studying. If the current conditions continue, and with a ruling regime that seeks to spread around terrorism and drug smuggling, nobody in this country will have work, jobs, future or security; neither men nor women.
