Hundreds of Taliban fighters are being trained by Iranian Special Forces inside military academies in Iran, The Times reported, quoting Afghan officials.
According to the newspaper, the intense and unprecedented Iranian exercises of the Taliban are not just a manifestation of the proxy war between the United States and Iran, but they reflect a shift in Iran’s policy and its desire to influence the course of the Afghan war.
According to a political adviser to the Taliban in Pakistan, the paper cited the name, Iran requires two things for the fighters to ensure training: focus more on attacking Americans and NATO interests.
The 38-year-old adviser, who has been a bomb maker in southern Afghanistan, says Iran and the Taliban began talks this spring on sending insurgents to Iran for six months of training under the supervision of Iranian Special Forces.
Iran resorted to Taliban fighters after the US president terminated the 2015 nuclear deal due to Tehran’s irrationality and its continued destabilization and support for terrorism.
Recently, the Taliban chose their brightest and most young fighters and then sent them to Iran in small groups, where they were greeted by Iranian officials upon arrival, and then taken to training camps.
A number of trainees went to a camp in the western province of Kerman Shah, but the report said Iranian intelligence officials were likely to have received other Taliban trainees.
Sources from the Taliban that more than 300 visas offered by Iranians to the fighters in the thirty-four Afghan provinces, during the past year.
Iran’s focus on the Taliban was a response to mounting US pressure and President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Iran, while Tehran was betting on the nuclear deal to get rid of the country’s economic hurdles.
This is another proof that when Islamists agree on targets, Islamic jihadists cooperate with each other, whether Sunni or Shiite.

Rami Dabbas, (Twitter @RealRamiADabbas ) Jordanian Writer, and Political Analyst, to comment on this matter.