Iran and the Taliban share a common enemy: America. The Taliban’s victory will assist Iran.
First off, Iran has previously supported the Taliban, including with weapon supplies. Last month, Iran hosted delegations from the Taliban and the Afghan government. In January, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, met with Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is expected to become Afghanistan’s next president.
With the United States out of Afghanistan, Iran will be able to give greater supplies of money and arms to the Taliban and al Qaeda — elements of support that these terrorists could use against the Afghan people and even to launch another attack on the West. The risks speak to a key reason why the U.S. should have stayed in Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden’s costly and immoral decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a win for America’s adversaries, including Iran. We should now expect Biden to continue his foreign policy of surrender. Next up: reentering the flawed 2015 Iran nuclear deal and giving the Islamic Republic sanctions relief.
Jackson Richman is a journalist in Washington, D.C. Follow him @jacksonrichman.
