Osama Bin Laden does not enjoy hero status in Iran and there are few if any supporters of the Taliban. On the contrary, Iran has long sought to dissociate its brand of Islam from that of either the Taliban or their Arab and Pakistani supporters. Some in the Islamic Republic of Iran were even advocating going to war with the Taliban after several of its diplomats were killed at its hands in August 1998. What deterred them was fear of becoming bogged down in the turf wars and factional fighting that have beset Afghanistan since before the Soviet invasion of 1979.
Iran: Living with Afghanistan
Drugs, guns and refugees flow across the border into Iran – Afghanistan is a deeply destabilising influence in the region. So there are mixed feelings in Tehran as its neighbour feels the strength of American wrath. Can Iran be kept in the loop?
