The Taliban has condemned Israeli strikes on Iranian soil, including the elimination of nuclear personnel, denouncing the attacks as “actions that flagrantly violate the core tenets of international law.” The statement, released by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on June 13, the day Israel struck Iran’s nuclear program, air defenses, ballistic missiles, military commanders, and other key targets, highlights the longstanding ties between the terror group and the Iranian regime.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan [the Taliban’s government] vehemently denounces the recent assaults carried out by the Israeli regime on Iranian soil, including the targeted killings of nuclear commanders and scientists, actions that flagrantly violate the core tenets of international law, notably the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mujahid stated on the Taliban’s official website, Al Emerah.
Mujahid followed the criticism of the Israeli strikes by tying the conflict to Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip following Palestinian terror groups’ assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
“These actions unfold at a time when the oppressed people of Palestine, particularly in Gaza, endure relentless and devastating assaults, with the occupying regime persisting in these activities in defiance of humanitarian and international norms,” Mujahid stated.
The Taliban has voiced its support for Hamas, Iran’s proxy, since the October 7 attack. It routinely issues statements denouncing Israel and the military operation against the Gaza Strip [See LWJ report, “Taliban emir decries ‘Zionist assaults and acts of oppression’ in Gaza.”] However, it is rare for the Taliban to openly side with Iran in the international sphere.
While some analysts commonly argue that a Sunni group like the Taliban cannot cooperate with a Shiite regime like Iran due to ideological and sectarian differences, as well as the Taliban’s historical oppression and massacres of the Shiite Hazara in Afghanistan, ties between the two countries have increased since the US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.
Iran, eager to drive up the price of the US occupation of Afghanistan and eject US forces from its eastern border, provided the Taliban and its ally, Al Qaeda, with money, weapons, training, and a safe haven. Taliban leaders sheltered in Iran while training camps for Taliban fighters were established with the aid and support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). IRGC-QF officers would embed with the Taliban inside of Afghanistan to train fighters and provide intelligence and tactical guidance to facilitate attacks against US, Western, and Afghan military forces.
Additionally, a significant portion of Al Qaeda’s leadership, including its emir, Saif al Adel, is headquartered in Iran to this day. The US government outlined the “Secret Deal” between the Taliban and Al Qaeda and how Al Qaeda uses Iran as a “core facilitation pipeline” for its operations in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. Al Qaeda currently operates safe houses to move its leaders and operatives between Iran and Afghanistan with the support and approval of the Taliban.
Facts about Iran’s support for the Taliban and Al Qaeda were established in Cabrera v. Iran, a lawsuit in which the families of US service members sued Iran for deaths and injuries incurred in Afghanistan. The US District Court for the District of Columbia determined that the evidence of Iran’s support for the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other terror groups was compelling and ruled against Iran (Disclosure: the author of this article was a witness for the plaintiff in this case).
