IRGC forces 'fought alongside Taliban' in Western Afghanistan, militant commander claims

A Taliban commander in western Afghanistan has claimed that troops affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have fought alongside the insurgents, according to an Iranwire report.

Mullah Abdul Raziq, allegedly a top commander for the Taliban in the Afghan provinces of Herat and Farah, told the dissident Iranian outlet that "Iran-backed operatives" had set up villages to treat wounded Taliban fighters in two villages in Farah.

Some Taliban fighters had been transferred to Iran for hospital treatment, he also said. Mullah Raziq claimed that Iran-backed forces wore Afghan uniforms and had advised and trained his own troops.

He further claimed that the Islamic republic rewarded Taliban fighters with weapons if they travelled to Tehran for combat training. He said that in Farah, “50 percent of the Taliban are affiliated with Pakistan and the other 50 percent with Iran”.

While it is not possible to verify the veracity of the commander's statements, Afghan government officials have long accused both Iran and Pakistan of support for the militant group.

On Wednesday, Tehran hosted a meeting between Afghan government negotiators and Taliban representatives.  

In a speech to open the talks, Tehran's outgoing foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran was “proud to have stood alongside our noble Afghan brothers and sisters during the jihad against the foreign occupiers.”

While hailing the "defeat" of US troops, who have reportedly completed 90% of their pullout from Afghanistan, he warned of the "unfavourable results of continuing the conflict"