The Telegraph: Taliban and Iran Secretly Collaborate to Deliver Afghans Accused of Spying to Britain

The British newspaper "The Telegraph" revealed the existence of a secret collaboration between the Taliban and Iran involving the delivery of a number of Afghans accused of spying for London, as part of a mutual interest exchange between the two sides.

A report published by the newspaper on Thursday stated that the Taliban handed Tehran a "death list" that includes the names of Afghans who previously worked with British forces, among them three individuals accused of spying for Britain, who were detained in Kabul awaiting transfer to Tehran.

The origins of the case date back to 2021, when a list containing thousands of names was inadvertently leaked by Britain. The list included former military personnel, special forces members, and collaborators with British intelligence agencies.

According to the report, this deal is based on mutual interests; Tehran seeks to use the detainees as leverage in its nuclear negotiations with the West, while the Taliban aspires to obtain official recognition from Iran of its government.

In response to these reports, British government sources urged the Taliban to adhere to the "general amnesty" decree announced after its takeover of Kabul, and not to pursue former military personnel and collaborators. However, no official comment has been issued by Iran or senior Taliban officials such as Zabihullah Mujahid, Hamdullah Fetrat, or Zia Ahmad, despite repeated media inquiries.

These news have raised widespread concern among former Afghan military personnel inside Afghanistan and Iran. One member of the Afghan special forces who previously worked with the British and currently resides in Iran expressed his deep fear, telling Radio Free Europe: "The Taliban is willing to do anything for recognition of its government; we were previously targeted for killing, and now we are being handed over to others, our lives are in danger, especially for those who worked with Britain."

A former police officer from the special forces also confirmed that he and his colleagues have faced ongoing threats since the lists were leaked, stating that many of them have been arrested and tortured.

"The Telegraph" clarified that the transfer of the three wanted individuals to Britain is awaiting final approval from the Ministry of Interior in the Taliban government. This step follows meetings between Taliban leaders and four officials from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who visited Kabul last week to enhance intelligence cooperation between the two countries.

It is noteworthy that the newspaper had previously published a report on August 13 stating that the Revolutionary Guard is seeking a list of 25,000 names of Afghans who applied for asylum in Britain, aiming to identify collaborators with the British foreign intelligence agency (MI6). These lists contain sensitive details about the work of these Afghans with foreign forces.

It should be noted that several British media outlets, including "The Telegraph" and "Daily Mail", had previously warned that the leaking of these lists led to arrests, torture, and killings of former Afghan military personnel at the hands of the Taliban, accusations that the movement has long denied.