Iran asks Taliban for help in capturing alleged British intelligence collaborators to serve as 'bargaining chips' in nuclear talks

Tehran has asked the Taliban for access to a leaked database containing the names of thousands of Afghans who collaborated with the U.K. during the protracted war in Afghanistan, in the hope of identifying suspected MI6 spies, British newspaper The Telegraph reported. This maneuver, led by the Iranian Guardians of the Revolution, seeks to use these collaborators as exchange currency in renewed nuclear negotiations with European powers, amid a threat by the United Kingdom, Germany and France to reimpose international sanctions on Iran before the end of the month if a new nuclear deal is not reached.

According to The Telegraph, the database contains the names of 25,000 Afghans who worked with the British Army or were linked to U.K. intelligence services, including soldiers in Afghanistan and officials in the Kabul government that collapsed in 2021 after the Taliban's rapid reconquest.

The leak occurred accidentally in February 2022, when a British soldier mistakenly sent the full file to Afghan contacts in the U.K., rather than a shortened version. Although the Taliban obtained the list that same year, the British government was not aware of the leak until August 2023. In response, London evacuated some 900 high-risk Afghans on the list, along with 3,600 of their family members, at a cost of approximately $2.7 billion. This operation, kept secret under a publication restriction order lifted last month, sparked a major controversy in the United Kingdom.

A senior Iranian official quoted by The Telegraph confirmed that the aim is to capture suspected MI6 spies to use as leverage in nuclear negotiations. According to the report, there is already cooperation between Iran and the Taliban, evidenced by the deportation last weekend of a listed Afghan expelled from Iran to Afghanistan. This individual, whose wife, sick son and two daughters remain in Iran, told the newspaper how he was stopped on the street, handcuffed and sent to a deportation camp. "I begged, I told them my life would be in danger in Afghanistan. I shouted 'where are the human rights', but they didn't care. They sent me straight across the border," he said, adding that he is now hiding in Kabul for fear of Taliban reprisals.

The Taliban, for its part, belatedly acknowledged the significance of the leaked list, according to The Telegraph. An Afghan government source indicated that the organization ordered the arrest of as many people as possible mentioned in the database, also seeking to obtain "bargaining chips" with London.

UK downplays importance of the matter

Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defense insists that it is "highly unlikely" that the listing poses a real danger, claiming that they take the safety of their personnel, especially those in sensitive positions, seriously. However, Iran's expulsion of the Afghan and its fear for his life contradict this stance.

A context of high tensions

The context of this maneuver is linked to nuclear tensions. The snapback mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal allows the signatory powers (U.K., Germany, France, China and Russia) to reinstate international sanctions if Iran violates the pact. Although Tehran did not comply with the agreement after the U.S. withdrawal in 2018 under the first presidency of Donald Trump, the European powers did not activate the mechanism. Now, with a deadline expiring in October, Europe has warned that it will implement it later this month if there is no progress in negotiations. Iran, which refuses to negotiate directly with the United States after joint strikes with Israel against its nuclear facilities in June, is holding talks with Europe but insists on its right to enrich uranium, which has led to threats of further U.S. military action.