Don’t Bomb Iran

Defence Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Brussels Jun. 12, “Iran is playing a double game” in Afghanistan by “sending in a relatively modest level of weapons and capabilities to attack ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) and coalition forces”. The  Bush administration also charged  that Iran was supplying sophisticated bombs and anti-armour weapons to the Taliban, while at the same time the Pentagon disputed such evidence-free “intelligence assessments” of “suspected” support.

Shia Iran is fundamentally opposed to the Sunni Taliban, and has given the US considerable support in its Afghanistan operations since 2001

A detailed discussion here also casts doubt on these allegations. “You have one discourse of officials in Afghanistan, who would support collaboration with Iran,” Dorronsoro said in an interview with IPS. “It’s very clear that those people don’t want a crisis with Iran and don’t want to push Iran too far.”

But those who want to put pressure on Iran to stop its enrichment program, he said, “are acting as though they are building some kind of legal case against Iran.”

Tags: Iran, support, taliban