Iran has long claimed to support political stabilization in neighboring Afghanistan while at the same time expanding its ties with the Taliban, a contradictory policy that’s likely to breed more chaos and violence as the Sept. 11 deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan draws closer, experts say.
This policy of simultaneously supporting the Afghan government and the Taliban—what the experts call “hedging”—is done with an intention to exert greater political influence once the United States withdraws.
