Iran's Balancing Act in Afghanistan

Abstract

The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to provide measured support to Taliban insurgents battling U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. However, Iran also maintains close and constructive relations with the same Afghan central government that is battling Taliban forces. Iran's complex and, at times, contradictory set of cultural, religious, political, and security interests shapes its behavior in Afghanistan, to the benefit and detriment of U.S. objectives. This paper examines Iran's objectives and interests in Afghanistan and the consequent Iranian policies affecting U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA545350

Entities

People

  • Alireza Nader
  • Joya Laha

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan
  • Asia
  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Central Asia
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Explosively Formed Penetrators
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Intellectual Property
  • Military Science
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.