Iran uses foreign aid to pay Taliban

At least five Iranian companies in Afghanistan are secretly paying Taliban militants over $200 per month with bonuses of $1,000 for killing an American soldier and $6,000 for destroying a U.S. military vehicle, according to the Sunday Times of London.

“Iran will never stop funding us, because Americans are dangerous for them as well,” said a Taliban treasurer, who picks up the cash from an Iranian construction company that operates out of Kabul.

Despite their ideological differences, Iran has armed and supported the Taliban against the U.S. for years in order to sabotage American goals in Afghanistan.

Iran is funding the Taliban using foreign aid, according to Afghan intelligence and Taliban sources. The Iranian companies win construction contracts, with their profits being transferred through Afghan banks to Tehran and Dubai before returning to Afghanistan through the unregulated hawala Islamic banking system.

“This means the companies involved in funding the insurgency can cover their tracks easily. It makes it harder for us to trace the cash flow,” a senior Afghan intelligence official said. The Iranian companies were specifically formed to divert money from foreign donors to then be used to fund the Taliban insurgency.

Taliban commanders have also confirmed that Iran is running a training program for them, according to Ryan Mauro, writing for FrontPageMag.com.

It appears Tehran’s support of the Taliban dates right back to just after the September 11 terrorist attacks. A former Taliban governor said that Iran secretly agreed to provide support for the Taliban just one month after 9/11.

“Through a combination of destabilizing the country, fear, corruption and developing influence with investment,” writes Mauro, “the Iranians have neutralized the Afghan government as an adversary. As U.S. troop levels reach their highest level yet in Afghanistan, more American blood has to be expected to fall on Iranian hands.”

Right after 9/11, the Trumpet pointed out that Iran was the head of the terrorist snake and the fact that the U.S. would not recognize this would prove to be a curse. That reality is now becoming more and more evident as details of Iran’s support of terrorism against U.S. forces continues to emerge.

For more on how America’s failure to confront Iran has come back to bite it, read “Why Peace in the Middle East Is a Fantasy.”