Iran’s special envoy to Afghanistan and the head of its embassy in Kabul says Tehran includes the war-torn country as part of is “axis of resistance” — a loose-knit network of Iranian-backed proxies and militant groups that aid it in opposing the West, Arab foes, and primarily Israel.
Active in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere, the network allows Iran to create chaos in enemy territory while maintaining a position of plausible deniability that it is directly involved.
Speaking on Tehran’s Ofogh television network on February 6, Hassan Kazemi Qomi said that under the right conditions, more than one brigade of “martyrdom-seeking” forces could go to Gaza from Afghanistan to support Hamas, another member of the axis which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.
Amid intense fighting between Hamas and Israel, Iran has been increasingly vocal about the prospect of additional firepower entering the fray to score a victory for the so-called “axis of resistance” against Israel.
“In what we see in Afghanistan today, it is apparent that Afghanistan is part of the ‘axis of resistance.’ If there is a situation and a necessity, more than one brigade of ‘martyrdom-seeking’ forces can go to Gaza in support of Gaza,” Qomi said during the interview.
RFE/RL sought comments from officials of the Taliban-led government, but spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid did not respond to the inquiries.
“Martyrdom-seeking” forces often refer to those who carry out suicide attacks in Afghanistan and other countries. The Taliban, which used such forces in its nearly two-decade-long war against NATO-led forces and the security forces of the former republic, is known for this tactic.
Mujahid told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi in January 2021 that a “martyrdom-seeking” battalion would be incorporated into the special forces of the Defense Ministry run by the Taliban.
Aziz Maarij, a former Afghan diplomat in Iran, said Qomi’s statement may be an attempt by Iran to drag Afghanistan into its sphere by involving it in the Gaza conflict.
“The innocent Muslims being killed by Israeli oppression in Gaza is a tragedy, but this war is political, competitive, and proxy, in which Iran is involved. It seeks revenge against America and to challenge its rivals by dragging Afghanistan into these issues,” Maarij told Radio Azadi.
While Qomi did not specify who or which group could send a “martyrdom-seeking” brigade to Gaza, Iran has been previously accused of sending Afghans to fight in its proxy wars.
Recently, some Iranian media reported the death of Seyed Hamzah Alavi, born in Afghanistan’s Parwan Province and a veteran fighter of the Fatemiyoun Division in Syria.
The Fatemiyoun Division is considered a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force, which has recruited thousands of Afghan citizens to fight in Syria.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a yearslong shadow war. Tensions have been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.