Iran denies Taliban were paid bounties to target US troops in Afghanistan

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Tuesday denied reports it paid Taliban fighters to target U.S. 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 U.S. tries to hide its “miscalculations” in Afghanistan by resorting to propaganda.

On Monday, media reports said U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan.

Iran sees the U.S. forces’ presence in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq as a threat on its doorstep and routinely calls for their departure.

Pompeo says threats to US in Afghanistan raised with Russian officials

Pompeo’s testimony came a day after President Donald Trump told an interviewer he had not raised the bounty allegations in numerous phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Matthew Lee, The Associated Press

July 30, 2020