Thread by @HeshmatAlavi

THREAD

1)
#BREAKING
U.S. & Taliban sign a peace agreement.

While we all hope for lasting peace in Afghanistan & all int'l troops to return to home, we should not forget how #Iran's regime has constantly fueled years of instability & violence in its eastern neighbor.

2)
Oct 23, 2018
The U.S. Treasury Department tookhttps://t.co/Zjkv88kjSZ?amp=1 "significant actions to expose and disrupt Taliban actors and their Iranian sponsors that seek to undermine the security of the Afghan Government."

(File Photo)

3)
Let's take a look at #Iran's ties to the Taliban.

"Hundreds of Taliban fighters are receiving advanced training from special forces at military academies in Iran as part of a significant escalation of support for the insurgents..."
thetimes.co.uk/article/taliba…

3)
A provincial police chief, Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, was more explicit.

"Iran directly interferes … insecurity in Farah is in the interest of Iran … Iran is fully funding and equipping the Taliban in Farah,” he said...
jamestown.org/program/iran-r…

4)
Iran's New Quds Force Leader Has A Long, Shadowy History With Afghanistan

"Qaani's recent trips to Afghanistan are just the latest examples of his activities in the war-torn country."
rferl.org/a/iran-s-new-q…

5)
In 1987, Ghaani was appointed as the Ansar Corps Commander, which was responsible for operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this capacity, he organized and commanded special IRGC operations in Afghanistan.
ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statem…

6)
Placed on the list of sanctions by the U.S. government, Ghaani has organized a vast network of smuggling in order to supply arms and funds to terrorist proxies in various countries, including Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

File photo - Ghaani right of @khamenei_ir

@khamenei_ir 7)
Afghan government and police officials have accused Iran of providing financial aid and advice to Taliban militants as part of its opposition to the US military presence in Afghanistan.
arabnews.com/node/1310541/w…

@khamenei_ir 8)
Farah Provincial Council Chair Jamile Amini has accused Iran of sending IRGC members to join the Taliban ranks and files, adding that 25 Taliban members recently killed in this province were IRGC members.
thehill.com/blogs/pundits-…

@khamenei_ir 9)
"Despite the apparent irony of Shiite Iran supporting Sunni Taliban, Tehran in fact has a long history of meddling in Afghan affairs and providing for this terrorist group," wrote
@amir_bas in The Hill.

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 10)
"In Afghanistan, we have to admit Iran is in fact supporting the Taliban and essentially destabilizing a state and government supported by the West, and the international community as a whole."

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 11)
"Iran has most likely, as forecasted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, used billions of previously sanctioned money released as a result of the Iranian nuclear deal to boost its efforts in supporting terrorism and insecurity across the region."

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 12)
"As per recent reports, Russia and Iran have also been covertly supporting the Taliban, with their support expanding in recent years."
thediplomat.com/2018/05/irans-…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 13)
"The former leader of the Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, was returning from Iran to Quetta, Pakistan, when he was targeted by a U.S. drone."

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 14)
"The killing of the Taliban chief on the main highway leading from the Iranian border shines new light on the movement’s complicated relationship with Tehran."
theguardian.com/world/2016/may…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 15)
"Although it is Pakistan that has traditionally been condemned for secretly supporting Afghan insurgents, analysts say Iran also provides weapons, cash and sanctuary to the Taliban."

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 16)
"Tehran & the Taliban have a more symbiotic relationship than meets the eye.Indeed, Tehran and the Taliban have a more symbiotic relationship than meets the eye."
foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/27/mul…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 17)
"Thomas Joscelyn, an international security analyst and senior editor with the Long War Journal, has presented a compelling case of long-standing links between Iran and the Taliban. These links date back to 2000,..."

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas 18)
@thomasjoscelyn provides extensive research on the link between #Iran & the Taliban.
longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn 19)
"Even one-time enemies like the Taliban and Iran can conspire when it comes to countering their mutual enemy: America. And, somewhat surprisingly, they had begun to plan their countermeasures even before the September 11 attacks prompted America’s response in the region."

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn 20)
Important:

"Esma’il Razavi was designated for acting for or on behalf of IRGC-QF and for assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, the Taliban."
home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn 21)
"Mohammad Ebrahim Owhadi was designated for acting for or on behalf of IRGC-QF and for assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, the Taliban."

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn 22)
Iran funded us to attack a major Afghan piping project, members of a defected Taliban group say.

(Farsi source: farsi.alarabiya.net/fa/afghanistan…)

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn 23)
Chief of Police of Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan has said that Afghan intelligence services have evidence Iran is supplying the Taliban with Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).
en.radiofarda.com/a/afghan-polic…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn 24)
"General Haya also alleged that Iran's Revolutionary Guard is funding the Taliban to fight Afghan and American forces and their allies."

(File Photos)

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn 25)
"Iran will reinforce groups, Taliban in general & Al-Qaida in particular, to target Americans & their allies in Afghanistan. There were reports Iran was supplying Al-Qaida w/ missiles to target US bases," said Hikmatullah Azami, a counter-terrorism & security expert in Kabul.

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn 26)
In November 2019 a high-ranking Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the group’s founders, visited Tehran after talks in Moscow. Mullah Abdul Ghani held meetings with Iran's Foreign Minister @JZarif according to these reports.
reuters.com/article/us-ira…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif 27)
Sep 2018

Sec. Pompeo:
Iran has supported terrorism in Europe, Africa, South Africa, Asia & ... Since 2006, Iran has provided the Taliban with a broad range of arms. This past August, the U.S. arrested two Iranian operatives targeting Israelis & American citizens.

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif 28)
Now, regarding #Iran’s ties with al-Qaeda.

“U.S. intelligence officials and prosecutors have long said Iran formed loose ties to the terror organization starting in 1991, something noted in a 19-page al-Qaida report in Arabic...”
apnews.com/3b50816d482d45…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif 29)
Former “CIA director Mike Pompeo suggested the al-Qaeda-Iran pact had been an ‘open secret’ during the Obama administration, which had failed to act.”
theatlantic.com/international/…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif 30)
“Iran provided logistical assistance to al-Qaeda, facilitating travel for some operatives and providing safe houses for others.”
newsweek.com/irans-secret-f…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif 31)
“Anyone who wants to strike America, Iran is ready to support him and help him with their frank and clear rhetoric,” AP quotes an Arabic al-Qaeda report as saying.
arabnews.com/node/1187461/m…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif 32)
“Iran has collaborated with Al Qaeda covertly and often by proxy due to the latter's notorious reputation. This covert cooperation began in the early 1990's in Sudan, continued after Al Qaeda relocated to Afghanistan...”
unitedagainstnucleariran.com/AlQaeda

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif 33)
"Iranian intelligence officials secretly helped provide the al Qaeda attackers with passage and gave them refuge in the Islamic Republic..."
telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/0…

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif 34)
Iranian Official: In some cases, we let Al-Qaeda members pass through Iran without stamping their passports

(Credit: @MEMRIReports)

@khamenei_ir @amir_bas @thomasjoscelyn @JZarif @MEMRIReports 35)
Final thoughts:
We all want peace in Afghanistan.
In the road ahead, I believe the main threat to this process is the regime ruling Iran.

P.S. If interested, I wrote a piece in 2017 about Iran’s ties with al-Qaeda.
english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective…