Iranian smuggelr of arms was held by NATO

A member of an influential Al-Quds force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been arrested in Southern Afghanistan blamed of arms smuggling. He was captured last Saturday in sourthern Kandhar province. He was the key element for supplying arms to Taliban, said Nato in a statement. It was not happened first time that Iran is backing Taliban insurgency.

A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said, the man was arrested for helping the movement of weapons between Iran and Kandahar via southern Nimruz province, while he was under arrest in the Zheri district of Kandahar, which is the famous hometown of the Taliban movement.

The ISAF official added that the apprehended man was considered a Kandahar based weapons facilitator with directs deals to other Taliban leader in the province. The official further added that the man would be under detention for some time. He also said that Iranian intelligence is assisting Taliban and drugs dealers in the south. This will become a well known fact.

Iranian-Afghan past history of relationship

§         Iran was against the Taliban government and backed opposition Northern Alliance

§         In 1998 Taliban killed 8 Iranian civil servants including 1 reporter

§         Iran worried about drug transferring across shared border

§         More than one million Afghan expatriates and many illegal migrants are still living in Iran

§         Iran is being a big investor built roads, bridges, power lines and border stations

§         Iranian pressure in Afghan dealings is a rising concern to the US and its allies

The man had been monitored by listening through electronic conversations, so the arrest has been made by Nato forces. Afghan intelligence officials say that Iranians are broadly alleged of supplying roadside bombs and other weapons to the Taliban in south and south-western Afghanistan. Iran has also without giving any reason stopped fuel supplies from going over the border. Some of Afghanistan's border guards were last week jailed in Iran after crossing over the border, actually by mistake.

Earlier this year, it come to light President Hamid Karzai's government had been getting bags of cash from Iran.