Iran Pulls the Strings of Afghani Future

Kabul- The Iranian growing presence in the region is not recent, and can be traced back to decades ago, ever since the revolution successfully took over Iran. Evidently, after war ripping through its bordering neighbor, Iran took advantage of recruiting an approximate two million Afghani refugees, sending them back to Afghanistan for establishing fronts loyal to Iran’s regional influence and enacting Iranian will.

However, the Iranian presence in Afghanistan remains difficult to pinpoint. It has infiltrated deep into the Afghani society, and has been integrated into the soft war Iran leading against Western civilization. Moreover, Iran has managed to keep its interference below radar, which is an unparalleled advantage, given that any other Arabian country’s intervention in Afghanistan would have ushered scolding attention worldwide.

Afghanistan already holds a minor 13 percent population of Shiites, which Iran has saved no effort in taking advantage of, employing them as means for accessing and influencing the Afghani populous. A Shiite party under the name of “Islamic Unity” was founded in Afghanistan under the leadership of Abed al Ali Mazari, whom later was killed by the Taliban in 1996. After al-Ali’s death, a series

of Afghani Shiite political parties emerged diverging from the “Islamic Unity”, all bound by one aim, acting for Iran’s best interest.

The Shiite role in Afghanistan is overgrowing, especially with the consequences of the American assault. Iran now uses its Afghani proxy to pave its way into spurring up more Shiite formations across the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries.

Shiites, according to statistics, despite being a minority in Afghanistan, with their loyalty to Iran enjoy leverage blown out of proportion in all domains: political, economic, social, and educational. They enjoy highly held political ranks, and control several broadcasting stations.

Moreover, experts on Afghani affairs emphasize on the Iranian presence in the educational sector and how it affects their country’s outlook.

After 6 years of dominating Afghanistan, the Taliban’s rule came to an end in 2002, and an opportunity revealed itself before the Iranian plot to advance. Knowingly, Tehran played the scholastic card, spreading its universities into cities like Herat and the Capital Kabul. Education is an influential mean known for controlling any given future of any society, and Iran, in full awareness, began to inseminate the makings of Afghani future with Iranian culture.

Islamic Azad University is one of the prominent universities in Afghanistan funded by Iranians endorsing their propagation into Afghanistan in cities like Kabul and Herat.