Taliban spokesperson: If US attacks Iran, we will cooperate with Tehran

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Taliban, stated that if the United States launches a potential attack on Iran, the group would cooperate with Iran to the best of its ability.

In an interview with an Iranian media outlet, Mujahid added: "First, we are not supporters of war. Second, you remember when Iran was attacked, the result was that Iran emerged victorious. I think it will be the same this time. Iran is in the right, Iran's defense is justified. Afghans are ready to sympathize with Iran's problems in war and cooperate to the extent of their ability."

Some experts believe the Taliban lacks the capacity to assist Iran and is merely seeking political and diplomatic leverage. Khalid Pashtun, a member of parliament in the former government, said: "Money flows to Afghanistan both openly and behind the scenes, meaning they have backchannel interactions. It's impossible for them to hold two watermelons in one hand—to please both Iran and the US, forcing us to help them. I think the Taliban are just fooling themselves, and Iranians should not trust the Taliban's promises at all."

Last week, Alireza Bikdeli, head of the Iranian embassy in Kabul, indicated that Tehran might recognize the Taliban. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking at a seminar attended by a Taliban representative, described neighboring countries including Afghanistan as brothers and kin, emphasizing enduring ethnic, historical, cultural, and social ties with Afghanistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and others.

Taliban-Iran interactions are warming even as assassinations of former Afghan military commanders in Iran have increased. In the past two months, at least three former Afghan commanders have been killed in Iran, with the latest incident involving Rahimullah Mujahid, a former military figure, who was assassinated in Tehran last week.