As the U.S. looks to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, recent tensions coupled with Iran\u2019s history of meddling in the country could jeopardize talks between the U.S. and the Taliban to end the 18-year long conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. military intelligence assessments dating back to 2010 suggest Iran\u2019s elite paramilitary unit, the Quds Force<\/a>, has track record of providing training and lethal arms to the Taliban. The list includes portable shoulder-fired air-defense systems known as MANPADS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the level of that support from Tehran does not appear to be a game changer on the battlefield, the recent succession of the former head of Iran\u2019s Quds Force branch in Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, to be the top commander of the elite Iranian unit could amplify Iran\u2019s destabilization efforts in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ghaani was chosen by Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to lead the Quds force following a Jan. 2 airstrike by the U.S. that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phillip Smyth, a research fellow with the Washington Institute, told Military Times that the new Quds Force commander could be a spoiler for peace prospects in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following Soleimani\u2019s killing, Iran is looking to send a \u201csignal to say we are going to look eastward,” Smyth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flanked by flags of its various proxy forces, a recent IRGC press conference included the banners of Fatemiyoun Division, an Iran-backed Afghan Shia group fighting in Syria, and the emblem for Liwa Zainebiyoun \u2014 a Shia Pakistani Iran proxy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has also for years trained and recruited from Afghanistan\u2019s Shia Hazara population for use in its nebulous network of militant and proxy forces across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analysts and national security experts have expressed concern over the Taliban peace talks following the U.S. strike that killed Soleimani, and Iran\u2019s retaliatory ballistic missile strike against U.S. forces at two air bases in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Iran\u2019s sway over the Taliban is minimal. A Taliban spokesman told Voice of America that he did not expect recent tensions between Tehran and Washington to impact the negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe developments will not have negative impact on the peace process because the (U.S.-Taliban) peace agreement is finalized and only remains to be signed (by the two sides),\u201d Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban\u2019s negotiating team, told VOA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In January, Reuters <\/a>reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran \u2014 without providing evidence \u2014 of undermining U.S. talks with the Taliban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Taliban\u2019s entanglement in Iran\u2019s dirty work will only harm the Afghanistan peace process,” Pompeo said, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iran has provided military aid to the Taliban, but U.S. intelligence reports, obtained by Military Times through a government records request, displays mixed reviews on the level and severity of that aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of the intelligence reports and assessments spanned 2010 to 2012, at a time when the U.S. had nearly 100,000 troops on the ground. The reports provide a glimpse into Iran\u2019s shadowy dealings with the Taliban \u2014 a militant group that has long been at odds with Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iran\u2019s support to the Taliban is minimal, often aimed at harassing coalition forces and as an effort to stymie progress in Afghanistan. But the underlying relationship between Tehran and the Taliban is not enough to sway the balance of power in Afghanistan in favor of the militants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIranian support to the Taliban is tempered by their realization that Taliban control of Afghanistan is not in Iran\u2019s best long term interest due to a history of ideological differences. Instead, lethal aid and training are used as a balancing force to counteract increased Western influence,\u201d a 2012 U.S. military intelligence assessment reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. military intelligence assessments detailed that Iran\u2019s Quds Force shelled out cash for every American soldier killed or for every U.S. military vehicle destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A report dated Oct. 15, 2010, from the Theater Intelligence Group based out of Bagram Air Base<\/a>, said that Iran\u2019s Quds Force was paying $1,000 for every U.S. soldier killed and $6,000 for American vehicles destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report also highlighted that Iran was funneling small arms and SA-7 shoulder fired air-defense systems to the Taliban<\/a> through a former Afghan security official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some instances, IRGC officials helped transport groups of 10 to 20 Taliban fighters to various locations in Iran for training on MANPADS, according to an Oct. 2010 report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Quds Force \u201cusually asks the Taliban commanders to send their best fighters for the training, likely due to the more advanced training involved in learning MANPADS systems or possibly to allow these fighters to become future trainers of other Taliban fighters inside Afghanistan,\u201d the Oct. 2010 report reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\t