August 17, 2020, 10:17 AM Updated
According to U.S. intelligence reports, Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters to target U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Based on a briefing document from Pentagon and reported by CNN, Haqqani network was paid by a foreign government to attack Bagram Air Base last December.
While the mentioned country is classified in the document, anonymous sources told CNN the country is Iran.
During last December attack to Bagram Air Base, four U.S. service members and more than 75 others were injured. A month after that attack U.S. killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, in a drone strike in Baghdad. Officials from the current administration told CNN that Iran-Taliban relationship were cited as one of the justification for the strike against Soleimani
Although U.S. intelligence believed that the Haqqani network had reason to target the base without a financial motivator, the Pentagon document states the funding “probably incentivizes this attack and future high-profile attacks on US and Coalition forces.
Pentagon spokesman Army Maj. Rob Lodewick told CNN that “the Department of Defense does not disclose timelines or discussions surrounding internal deliberations and intelligence briefings.”
However, he added, “the administration has repeatedly demanded, both publicly and privately, that Iran cease its scourge of malign and destabilizing behavior throughout the Middle East and the world. While the United States, its NATO allies and coalition partners are working to facilitate an end to 19 years of bloodshed, Iran’s inimical influence seeks to undermine the Afghan peace process and foster a continuation of violence and instability.”
