Iranian media claim that Israel sent special forces soldiers to Afghanistan to gather intelligence about Iranian military movements. The Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that Israeli soldiers were operating from an American Air Force base in Shindand, in the western province of Herat, about 75 kilometers from the Iranian border. According to the report, the soldiers are gathering intelligence on Iranian movements in the Persian Gulf region. Base in Afghanistan iStock The Russian news site Sputnik reported the Israelis were working "under the flags of the United States and the United Arab Emirates." Sputnik quoted an expert on Israeli affairs, Semyon Tzippis, who said that the IDF soldiers' activities were carried out within the framework of the American forces stationed there, and that this was done with the knowledge of the Afghan government. Tzippis claimed these are elite IDF units taking advantage of their stay there also to practice operations in the difficult terrain there. Afghanistan, Iran iStock
