Afghan Official Says Iran Is Fueling Sectarian Tension in Western Provinces

The BBC Persian reports that Iran has significantly expanded its ideological, cultural and economic sphere of influence in Afghanistan’s western province of Nimroz and is inflaming sectarian tension in the province. According to the report, cell phones in the province largely operate on Iranian mobile satellite networks, particularly Irancell, and Iran’s toman is the predominant currency for business transactions in the province. The BBC reporter visiting the province adds that Iranian commodities dominate the local market and Iranian culture permeates all levels of the society.

In an interview with the BBC Persian, Hizbullah Mawlawizadah, the head of the Hajj [pilgrimage] and Endowment Department of Nimroz, said Iran also fueled sectarian division between Sunnis and Shiites in the province. According to Mawlawizadah, the Iranian government threatens Afghan religious leaders to side with its policies in Afghanistan. Nimroz Governor Muhammad Sami said he has assigned a committee to investigate and address Iran’s growing influence in his province.

Comment: While the U.S. and Afghan governments understandably focus on Iran’s growing support for the Taliban, the Iranian soft-power influence in Afghanistan is more subtle and may have more significant impact on Afghanistan’s stability and U.S. interests in the region in the long run.

Over the past 15 years, the Iranian government has financed a network of Shiite religious groups across Afghanistan, funded media and cultural organizations, bribed Afghan officials to favor Iran’s policies, and created an economic buffer zone in western Afghanistan. According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy and Power, almost all electricity supply in western Herat and Nimroz provinces comes from Iran.

Nimroz is one of Afghanistan’s three western provinces that share border with Iran. Afghan officials have repeatedly accused Iran of inflaming sectarian tension and instability in the province. In the past, Afghan customs officials, for example, have seized and destroyed hundreds of books shipped from Iran into Nimroz because they “seriously insult a number of companions of the Prophet Muhammad and the Sunni faith, including the wife of the Prophet Muhammad, Bibi Aisha.” Nimroz officials said “the books were provoking, defamatory and would create religious conflict.” One Afghan official argued that the books were “more dangerous than Taliban bullets.”