Media reports citing unnamed Nato officials say that Nato troops in Afghanistan have seized weapons which were supplied by Iran and intended for the Taliban insurgents. The weapons were uncovered in an operation by Afghan and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces on 5 February in Nimruz province, in the southwest of the country where Aghanistan borders Iran and Pakistan. Officials said the cache included 50 rockets that have twice the range of the weapons currently available to the insurgents.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned Tehran for what he called its "completely unacceptable" behavior, adding that it was at odds with Iran's claim to the international community and to its own people that it supported stability and security in Afghanistan. "I am extremely concerned by the latest evidence that Iran continues to supply the Taliban with weaponry. [...] The detailed technical analysis, together with the circumstances of the seizure, leave us in no doubt that the weaponry recovered came from Iran."
Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Naijar denied the allegations and accused the Western officials of lying and of trying to divide Muslim nations. Naijar was in the Afghan capital Kabul to discuss security issues with government officials there.
