Iran May Send Missiles to Taliban to Attack American Forces

Now two of America’s greatest enemies are openly collaborating with each other: the Taliban, which planned 9/11, and Iran, which threatens the U.S. and the West with its nuclear program. The Taliban has been discussing the possibility of obtaining surface-to-air missiles from the Iranian government, which they could use on American bases in Afghanistan. The Taliban has even opened an office in the eastern Iranian city of Zahedan, which is located near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan and is close to the Taliban headquarters in Quetta, Pakistan.

Until recently, the religious differences between Iran and the Taliban precluded cooperation, as Iran was a Shiite theocracy and the Taliban was comprised of Sunni Muslims, but their mutual hatred of the U.S. has brought them together. Iran hadn’t even permitted the Taliban in Iran until now. The catalyst for their cooperation was the agreement between the U.S. and the Afghan government that was reached in May.

Iran’s shift came after the U.S. and Afghanistan sealed a long-term partnership agreement in May, which Iran had tried to prevent. Iran’s ambassador to Kabul urged Afghan lawmakers to vote against the agreement, and threatened to expel millions of Afghans working in Iran if they didn’t. The Afghani government, furious, ratified the agreement and the Iranian ambassador was recalled. In June, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a hint of the deal with the Taliban yet to come, warning Mr. Karzai that Afghan civilians living around U.S. bases were in danger.

Members of the Quds Force, a special unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, sent a communication to the Taliban that was intercepted in July that revealed the proposed transfer of the missiles. Iran has threatened that if its nuclear facilities are attacked, the Taliban will target American bases in Afghanistan. A senior coalition military official in Kabul said, “Something significant would have to change…a strike against the home nation … then, red lines will be crossed and things will probably change.”

Afghani intelligence revealed that Iran is already covertly planning action against Afghanistan; every month Afghan refugees deported from Iran include infiltrators sent by the Iranian government with the intention of spying on coalition military bases and U.S. forces in Afghanistan.