US military equipment left behind in Afghanistan spotted in Iran: Report

Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces take part in a military training at Malimah area of Dara district in Panjshir province. Pic/AFP

Several US military armoured vehicles, which allegedly belonged to the Afghan army before the Taliban took over control of the country, were spotted in Iran on Wednesday, images shared on social media showed, Al Arabiya reported. Some of the images shared on Twitter showed trucks belonging to the Iranian army transporting US Humvees, allegedly taken from Afghanistan, on a highway connecting the central city of Semnan to the city of Garmsar, southeast of the capital Tehran, the report said.

Bismillah Mohammadi, Afghanistan's Defence Minister before the Taliban takeover, tweeted one of the images circulating online, calling Iran a "bad neighbour". "Afghanistan's bad days won't last forever," he added in the same tweet. Iranian authorities have not yet commented on the images. Al Arabiya said it could not independently verify the authenticity of those images shared on social media.

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Iran, jubilant with the US withdrawal from neighbouring Afghanistan, has hinted that its stance on the Taliban will depend on the group's behaviour. "The nature of our relationship with governments depends on the nature of their relationship with us," Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday. Iran shares a 560-mile border with Afghanistan.

There is no definitive figure yet for the number of US military equipment e left behind after the American withdrawal on Monday e the Taliban have seized since taking control of the country last month, the report said. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), said on Tuesday that US forces demilitarised equipment before they had completely withdrawn from Afghanistan, which angered the Taliban. Since seizing control of Afghanistan on August 15, the Taliban have taken control of a treasure trove of military equipment that had been given to the Afghan government by the US.

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