Iran denies Taliban were paid bounties to target US troops

Iran on Tuesday denied reports it paid Taliban fighters to target US forces and allies in Afghanistan. In a statement carried by Iranian media, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called the claims “entirely false” and said the US tries to hide its “miscalculations" in Afghanistan by resorting to propaganda. On Monday, media reports said US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan.

Iran on Tuesday denied reports it paid Taliban fighters to target US forces and allies in Afghanistan. In a statement carried by Iranian media, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called the claims "entirely false" and said the US tries to hide its "miscalculations" in Afghanistan by resorting to propaganda.

On Monday, media reports said US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan. Iran sees the US forces' presence in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq as a threat on its doorstep and routinely calls for their departure.