It is the first major international energy contract for the current Afghan rulers
The Taliban government of Afghanistan has signed an oil extraction deal with a Chinese company, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The contract with Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company (CAPEIC) was signed in Kabul in the presence of the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and the Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, the outlet said, citing a statement from the Taliban government.
The 25-year oil extraction agreement would see CAPEIC drilling for oil in the Amu Darya basin. It is the Taliban’s first major international energy extraction deal since the group took control of the country in 2021.
“In terms of natural resources, Afghanistan is a wealthy nation. In addition to other minerals, oil is the wealth of the Afghan people on which the economy of the country can rely,” Bloomberg quoted Baradar as saying.
The Chinese company will invest up to $150 million a year, which will increase to $540 million in three years, and will give jobs to 3,000 Afghans, the outlet added.
READ MORE: US corruption doomed Afghanistan – ex-president
Afghanistan is estimated to have more than $1 trillion worth of natural resources such as natural gas, oil, copper, and rare earths, which are largely untapped due to decades of turmoil. After the Taliban came to power in 2021, the US froze more than $7 billion of its foreign currency reserves, leaving the country severely short of cash. China, which shares a 76km border with Afghanistan, said at the time that it was ready to deepen “friendly and cooperative” relations with Afghanistan.
The Taliban has not yet been recognized as Afghanistan’s legitimate government by any country.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...
