SETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iran’s media trumpeted a report that the Taliban have warned the US against drone operations. The US has used drones over Afghanistan for two decades and drones were the backbone of the US war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. A drone strike in late August, as the US withdrew, killed an innocent family in Kabul.
According to a report at Fars News Agency on Wednesday, the Taliban group warned that it would face consequences if the United States continued its “illegal drone operations over Afghanistan’s airspace.” According to a report “a statement issued by the Taliban on Tuesday reiterated its commitment to the country’s territorial integrity, including its airspace, and reiterated Washington’s commitments under the February 2020 Doha Peace Accords.” The Taliban spokesperson Sabihullah Mujahid was also quoted in the Washington Post saying the US is violating the Doha agreement by using drones over Afghanistan.
Of interest here, the Taliban claimed that the US use of drones goes against not only international law but also “its obligations to the Islamic Emirate of Doha, Qatar.” The Taliban say that the US has violated Afghan airspace with drones. “These violations must be corrected and prevented….We call on all countries, especially the United States, to abide by international laws and commitments to prevent any negative consequences,” the Taliban said in a statement, according to the Iran report.
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The US insists it can conduct counter-terrorism operations, the report said. “We have no agreement with the Taliban on not using Afghanistan’s airspace to fight terrorism,” the US said.
Evacuees from Afghanistan arrive at Al-Udeid airbase in Doha, Qatar in this recent undated handout.REUTERS
The report has been picked up by some other media. If the Taliban begin to see US drone operations as a provocation it is not clear what ramifications this could have. It appears other countries, such as Russia, Iran, Pakistan and China would like to limit the US use of drones in the region as well. That means that the Taliban may be pushing for Pakistan and other countries to increase pressure on the US against the use of drones. The US has used air bases in Qatar and the UAE and other areas in the Gulf for operations in the airspace over Afghanistan in the past. It is unclear whether this could mean that the US becomes more reticent to use drone so far from its bases. In June 2019 Iran shot down an expensive US Global Hawk drone. The US used a drone to kill Iran’s Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 in Iraq. Iran has in the past sought to shoot down and bring down US drones using various means. It also brought down a US Sentinel drone in a 2011 incident.
The fact the Taliban are referencing US delas in Doha as evidence the US must end drone operations points to deeper questions about what the US discussed with the Taliban in Qatar as part of a deal to withdraw US forces.
