Rahmatullah Nabil, a former chief of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, has warned Iran of the consequences of close ties with the Taliban. “The Taliban and its mindset is a lethal and lasting disease for the Afghan society and the region,” he tweeted in Pashto, warning Iran that “you will be infected with this disease, and it will have dangerous consequences for you.”
The warning came after senior Taliban officials, including the group’s deputy foreign minister, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, attended an event celebrating the 44th anniversary of the Iranian Islamic revolution in Kabul on Saturday 11 February.
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A separate event was held in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Unlike the last time the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Iran has established closed ties with the Afghan rulers. The Islamic Republic kept its embassy open after the US withdrawal in August 2021.
Furthermore, Iran has hosted Taliban leaders on several occasions before the group regained control of Afghanistan and has been accused of providing weapons to Taliban commanders and supporting them during the group’s insurgency against the previous Afghan government and its western allies.
