Iran arms its foes against U.S.

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Weapons captured from the Taliban being destroyed

Iran's Shiite-dominated Muslim government is reaching out to its traditional Sunni Muslim opponents in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, with weapons and supplies in an apparent effort to form a coalition that would defeat the U.S. and its war on terror partners along the Afghan-Pakistani border, new evidence suggests, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The Iranian initiative is under the authority of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to security experts, and is similar to concerted Iranian efforts under way in Iraq to target U.S. forces.

The experts point out that the IRGC regularly has been supplying arms to the Taliban operating in the province of Herst, which is the capital of Beluchistan province in southeastern Iran. That region is heavily Sunni, like the Taliban.

Now a Taliban commander, said to be a 30-year veteran of war, confirms that the Taliban is obtaining weapons from Iran.

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Weapons of particular interest to the Taliban from Iran include AK-47 assault rifles equipped with a capability of launching grenades out to 300 meters, land mines and explosive formed penetrators, or EFPs, which the Taliban has dubbed the Dragon, according to the commander.

The Dragon is a shaped charge which concentrates the explosive force in one direction, bringing about especially devastating results. According to the Taliban commander, the Dragon can penetrate the armor of U.S. Humvees and tanks.

In acquiring these weapons, especially the EFPs, the commander said the Taliban has to have "good relations" with Iranians to get them.

The Taliban commander's comments mirror an assertion made last year by Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns who left the State Department earlier this year. Burns said that there was "irrefutable" evidence that Iran is transferring weapons to the Taliban.

He further stated that such arming was being done with the knowledge of the Iranian government and wasn't just a freelance effort with private businessmen. In addition, Burns stated that NATO had intercepted some of the shipments.

"There's irrefutable evidence the Iranians are now doing this," Burns said. "It's certainly coming from the government of Iran. It's coming from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps command, which is a basic unit of the Iranian government."

At the time, however, other U.S. officials were reluctant to say that the Iranian government was directly involved in arms shipments to the Taliban.

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