Iran Press News and The Daily Telegraph reported this latest accusation against the Iranian regime:
Tony Blair yesterday accused Iran of arming Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in order to stir “chaos” and inflict more casualties on Western troops.
The Prime Minister’s allegation follows the disclosure in The Daily Telegraph that British intelligence believes that Iran has given the Taliban surface-to-air missiles.
In an article in The Economist, Mr Blair also conceded that al-Qa’eda had successfully manipulated public opinion of those in the West into believing that their own governments were responsible for provoking the terrorist threat.
British troops in southern Afghanistan are heavily engaged against Taliban fighters, many of whom are infiltrating the country from bases in neighbouring Pakistan.
Iran’s Shia regime was once an arch enemy of the avowedly Sunni Taliban.
advertisementBut common antipathy towards America, Britain and the West appears to have thrust them together. Mr Blair believes that Iran and the Taliban share an interest in killing Western troops inside Afghanistan and are co-operating accordingly.
Blair also criticised the Zimbabwe president and urged tougher action against Omar Bashir, the Sudanese president, for “bombing his way to a solution” in Darfur.
