Taliban Reportedly Deliver American Military Hardware To Iran

[Falcon29]

Not sure you're following the discussion. You claimed the news in the OP is fake and that the recently released pictures from Iran are in fact showing the same Humvees that Afghan army forces drove into Iran two weeks before. Now go ahead and prove that, if you can.

Generous of you to assume we take ops source seriously.

 

[SalarHaqq]

Generous of you to assume we take ops source seriously.

So Saudi Arabian sources are not to be taken seriously? Not that I would disagree with this assessment under normal circumstances... Here's the thing though: the news was not just reported by Saudi-owned and -funded media like "Iran International", which are hostile to the Islamic Republic, but also by sources supportive of the latter. And usually, when something is reported by media from opposite sides, it tends to make the report more credible.

Now, when it comes to circumstantial evidence, the Iranian spokesperson's remarks at the recent press conference do not imply much regarding Iran-Taleban relations. These relations, as shown above, have experienced a sustained process of normalization. From Mullah Mansoor's documented presence in Iran some five years ago, to the bilateral understanding on the Helmand river, to the Taleban peacefully escorting Iran's ally Ismail Khan's to the border, to Taleban overtures towards the Shias of Afghanistan, to the Taleban reducing taxes to enable more imports from Iran, to the fact that the Iranian embassy has remained in place in Kabul and that Iran was invited by the Taleban to the inauguration ceremony of the new Afghan cabinet, known elements overwhelmingly point to continued normal relations between the two sides.

Especially if one takes into account that the Raisi administration in Tehran is under intense fire right now from western-apologetic liberals (reformist & centrist factions and their supporters), who have engaged in an extremely vast media campaign criticizing the Islamic Republic for its revised position vis a vis the Taleban and pushing hard for action against the latter. Under these circumstances, it is very understandable and normal for the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson to issue a couple of comments here and there destined to appease a domestic public influenced to a certain extent by the anti-Taleban discourse of the reformists and centrists. The spokesperson's declarations weren't followed by any concrete political measures, neither by Iran nor by the Taleban.

Therefore any fact-based, objective analysis of the subject will lead to the inevitable conclusion that while the news in the OP may be false - after all no hard evidence was presented to date, there is also no proof that it's fake and these reports of the Taleban selling Iran small amounts of US-made military equipment or samples for reverse-engineering could well be accurate.

Death of Mullah Mansoor highlights Taliban's links with Iran

Shia state and hardline Sunni group have proved themselves willing to cooperate despite deep ideological antipathy

www.theguardian.com