Iran's war against the US
Iran has been at war with the US since 1979. Her proxies have caused the death of more Americans than anyone besides al Qaeda, since that time. It is something the regimes admits in private and occasionally in public. While it has been clandestine, Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons could make that war even more deadly.
Iran's current activity appears to be that of helping our enemies with logistical support. Attacking that logistical support has resulted in the capture of some Iranians in Iraq and may do so in Afghanistan. Iran has responded to that capture with a bogus hostage try against the Brits and the current arrest of Americans visiting Iran.
The only reason Iran has not used more effective means in its war with the US is it fears a US response. I'm not sure why they fear such a response since we seem to be going out of our way to even acknowledge Iranian responsibility for the logistical assistance to our enemies. I guess both sides fear the consequences that might flow from that acknowledgment. We have come along way from the original announcement of the Bush doctrine on states that support terrorism.
IRN Supplying SA-14 MANPADs to Taliban...
....according to American int sources quoted by Michael Smith of the Sunday Times (UK):
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IRAN is supplying the Taliban in Afghanistan with surface-to-air missiles capable of destroying a helicopter, according to American intelligence sources. They believe the Taliban wants to use the SA-14 Gremlins missiles to launch a “spectacular” attack against coalition forces in Helmand, where insurgents claim to be gaining the upper hand. Although British and American helicopters operating in southern Afghanistan are equipped with defensive systems to deflect an attempted strike, the SA-14 can evade such counter-measures. It was a shoulder-held SA-14 supplied by Iran that was used by Iraqi insurgents to shoot down a Lynx helicopter over Basra in May 2006 ....
A few more open sources on Taliban MANPADs here.
(Mods - couldn't find another thread to tack this onto searching for "Taliban, MANPAD", so feel free to shift if there's a better place for it. Thanks!)
Iran supplying 'Dragon' mines
A colleague spotted this BBC Newsnight item, from September 2008: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...ht/7621427.stm
Amidst the many subjects is the report than Iran (private and state actors) are supplying an effective mine, the 'Dragon' to the Taliban and that weapons flow south from the Northern Alliance areas.
Apologies if the link refuses to work outside the UK, as Canadians have found.
davidbfpo
Iran’s Influence in Afghanistan After U.S. Pullout
A short primer which aims to answer:
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Has Iran's influence in Afghanistan changed since the U.S. troop surge in 2010? What steps has it taken in anticipation of the U.S. withdrawal planned for 2014?
Nicely put:
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Iran is probably not in favor of a Western-influenced , democratic, affluent Afghanistan, but at the same time, is concerned that an unstable, opium producing and radicalized Afghanistan can also pause a major threat to its interests, as experienced in the 1990s.
Link:http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2013...ter-us-pullout
Finally, the author is a former Afghan Foreign MInister.
When they were friends long ago
A historical post on Iran-US relations before the US Embassy hostages incident, in 1979, by a respected British-Iranian academic:
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Throughout 1979, and in stark contradiction to the narrative of mutual animosity, the US had began a series of intelligence briefings for the provisional government of Iran. These briefings were to be substantive and detailed. In late October US intelligence briefings warned the Iranians that Saddam Hussein was preparing for an invasion and that adequate measures needed to be taken to deter any attack. According to Mark Gasiorowski, the briefing was delivered on 15 October with a follow up on the 18th.[4] Two days later Carter took the decision to allow the Shah in for medical treatment. The rest, we might say, is history.
The footnote refers to:
Quote:
[4] For more details on this fascinating part of US-Iran relations see Mark Gasiorowski's excellent article, US Intelligence Assistance to Iran, May-October 1979, Middle East Journal, Fall 2012.
The quote comes as the final paragraph in a review of the film 'Argo':http://www.rusi.org/analysis/comment.../#.US5bseuAuXT
Iran, the Northern Alliance and the USA
Taken from a comment on SWJ by Mark Pyruz:
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.... the example of successfully supporting the Northern Alliance is the critical role the Islamic Republic of Iran played in uniting the NA in its acceptance of U.S. terms for that support. The Iranians put themselves forward in the hopes of improving relations with the U.S., cooperating with American efforts during the initial stages of OEF and delivering their principal ally in Afghanistan, the NA, in the fight against the Taliban. However, after success was achieved, President Bush 'rewarded' Iran as being part of an "Axis of Evil" .
Former national security officials in the Bush Administration Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett write at length about this in their new book "Going to Tehran". The book also provides an empathetic rendering of Iran's national security and geopolitical outlook that's right on the mark and pretty much unavailable anywhere else in such detail. Well worth the read.
Link to cited book, published January 2013, with many good reviews:http://www.amazon.com/Going-Tehran-U...pr_product_top
Link to SWJ article - on other matters:http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art...ns-for-success