Iranian Embassy in Kabul: The Discovered Ammunition in Ghazni Does Not Belong to Tehran

The Islamic Republic's embassy in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, denied in a statement released on Tuesday, December 20, the attribution of weapons and ammunition discovered in Ghazni province to Iran. Recently, military commanders in Ghazni province reported the discovery and seizure of quantities of Iranian-made weapons and ammunition. Ghulam Dawood Tarakhail, the police chief of Ghazni, told Radio Azadi that these weapons and ammunition were recently found in a house in Ghazni city. This is the first time Afghan officials have reported the discovery and seizure of Iranian weapons and ammunition in the country. The local official's statements came shortly after Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, accused Tehran in a press conference of continuing to supply Houthi militants with weapons and providing military support to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Anti-tank missiles were among the equipment displayed at this conference, along with Fajr artillery rockets, which Mr. Hook stated were discovered in Helmand province, indicating that Iran is 'militarily supporting' the Taliban. Meanwhile, Tehran has repeatedly denied any support for the Sunni Taliban group. In response to the statements from local officials and a member of the Afghan House of Representatives, the Islamic Republic's embassy in Kabul strongly denied these claims, stating: 'Currently, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan are in the best state of their political, economic, and cultural relations, and no disruption should be allowed in the growing relations between the two friendly governments.' The embassy added: 'We have expressed our dissatisfaction regarding this matter to the relevant official authorities and are diligently pursuing clear evidence in this regard.' This is not the first time Iran has been accused of militarily equipping rebel and militant groups. Sending weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the existence of weapon depots in Syria, and military support for Houthi rebels have also been attributed to the Islamic Republic multiple times. With the rise of Donald Trump in the U.S. and increasing tensions between Tehran and Washington, American officials have accused the Islamic Republic of increasing 'military support' for militants and conducting 'terrorist activities' in various parts of the world.