The U.S. Sanctions Two Quds Force Members for Supporting the Taliban

On Tuesday, October 23, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions against the Taliban in Afghanistan, targeting the militia group and eight individuals supporting it, two of whom are Iranian and linked to the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In a statement published on its website, the Treasury named 'Mohammad Ebrahim Ohadi' and 'Ismail Razavi,' accusing them of providing financial and technological support to the Taliban on behalf of the Quds Force. The statement claims that Mohammad Ebrahim Ohadi, an IRGC Quds Force officer, reached an agreement in 2017 with Abdullah Samad Farooqi, a prominent Taliban figure and deputy governor in shadow for Herat province, to carry out attacks against the Afghan government in Herat in exchange for financial and military support. According to the U.S. Treasury, this agreement was made in the city of Birjand, the capital of South Khorasan province in Iran, where Taliban militia forces were also trained. Since then, both parties have adhered to their commitments. The Treasury also accused Ismail Razavi, head of a Quds Force training center in Birjand, of providing training, intelligence, and weaponry to Taliban forces in the provinces of Farah, Helmand, Ghor, and Badghis. The statement noted that Razavi traveled to Farah province in 2017 to encourage the Taliban to attack border areas in Afghanistan. He also instructed a Taliban commander to disrupt the construction of a dam in western Afghanistan through suicide operations. The Treasury additionally sanctioned two Pakistani citizens and four Afghan nationals. This statement was released while U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was in Riyadh. The statement mentions six Arab countries that are members of the 'Terrorist Economic Resource Targeting Center' and states that this center has successfully exposed the Taliban actors and their Iranian supporters. The Treasury then indicated that it imposed these sanctions in cooperation with six countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, against key Taliban figures and their Iranian supporters. Just hours before this statement, Saudi media reported that Riyadh, along with Bahrain, had listed the IRGC and Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, as terrorist organizations.