After the Trump-led US administration re-imposed sanctions on Iran, regions that Washington viewed as Afghanistan’s safest rural areas during its mission are now teetering on the brink of falling to Taliban. For the first time in 17 years, Taliban fighters have unleashed massive attacks on, and captured some parts of, districts inhabited predominantly by ethnic Hazaras.
The new Taliban offensive began from the Khas Uruzgan district of Uruzgan province and then spread to Jaghori and Malistan districts of Ghazni province.
Analysts believe that Iran, after the reinstatement of US sanctions, is trying to destabilize the regions of Afghanistan the US considers safe and therefore an achievement.
Hamid Mesbah, a political analyst, says the recent tensions between Washington and Tehran have led to Iranian interference in Afghanistan, billing the Taliban’s attacks on Khas Uruzgan, Jaghori and Malistan districts as Iran’s reaction to the sanctions.
The analysts allege that based on an agreement, unarmed Taliban fighters previously enjoyed freedom of movement in the Hazara populated areas where they also received medical treatment, but the Taliban have changed their war strategy following the reintroduction of American sanctions against Iran.
In a statement, the insurgents have insisted they are not fighting against any ethnic or religious group, adding that their operations will continue in all regions controlled by Afghan government and foreigners.
Meanwhile, lawmakers and tribal leaders from Ghazni province say that clashes have reached the city doorsteps, warning that Ghazni city will again fall to the rebels if the government does not act on time.
Ali Alizada, a member of Wolesi Jirga, claimed that hundreds of fighters had arrived in the surrounding areas of Jaghori district, and were gearing up for a major assault on the town.
The U-turn in Taliban’s stance and strategy towards the Hazara regions comes as Washington has recently slapped new sanctions on Tehran, which, in response, has also expanded its relations with the Taliban.
The new US sanctions were imposed on Tehran because on the one hand, it has not limited its nuclear program and on the other hand, it is interfering in the internal affairs of the region, especially the Middle Eastern countries.
