Tehran has requested the Taliban share a leaked list of Afghans who assisted British forces, including those linked to MI6, as part of a bid to identify and potentially detain some now in Iran for possible diplomatic leverage ahead of nuclear talks, The Telegraph reported.
An official from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Tehran confirmed to The Telegraph on Monday that the IRGC has formally asked the Taliban for the list of nearly 25,000 Afghans.
The list, dubbed the “kill list” in British media was leaked in 2022 and contains the full names, emails, and phone numbers of people in Afghanistan who applied for relocation to the United Kingdom following the military withdrawal in 2021.
It includes personal data of Afghan soldiers, government employees, and their families, as well as around 100 British special forces members and intelligence operatives who had endorsed Afghan applicants.
A Taliban official told The Telegraph that since discovering the value of the list, the group has been working to locate and detain those still in Afghanistan, intending to use them as leverage in diplomatic pressure on the UK.
"Taliban leadership in Kandahar has also ordered officers in Kabul to arrest as many individuals as possible from the leaked document to use them as leverage in exerting diplomatic pressure on London," according to the report.
The Telegraph says the IRGC appears to have similar intentions, particularly with renewed nuclear negotiations and the threat of snapback sanctions looming over Iran.
Since the June 25 ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Tehran has accelerated the deportation of Afghan nationals from Iran, citing an inability to continue hosting large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers.
On July 25, senior Iranian diplomats met with counterparts from the UK, France, and Germany in Istanbul to discuss the path forward. They agreed to continue negotiations.
European governments are pressing Iran to resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including the reinstatement of inspections and other obligations. Following the war with Israel, Iran has moved to further limit cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, any party to the now-lapsed 2015 nuclear agreement—including France, Germany, the UK, Russia, or China—can file a complaint accusing Iran of non-compliance.
If no progress is made on Iran's nuclear dossier by August 30, the so-called snapback mechanism can reinstate UN sanctions removed under the 2015 deal.
“We have made it clear to the United Nations and the Security Council that such a step is a misuse of international mechanisms, and the Islamic Republic will respond decisively,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Sunday.
