IRGC asks Taliban for leaked ‘kill list’ of suspected MI6 agents, collaborators
In doing so, IRGC intends to increase its knowledge on spies working for the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, which may give Iran leverage ahead of nuclear negotiations.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) requested that the Taliban send them a leaked list of Afghans who assisted the UK during NATO’s 20-year-long presence in Afghanistan, British outlet The Telegraph reported on Monday.
According to the report, a senior Iranian official confirmed to The Telegraph that the IRGC formally requested to share the leaked list.
In doing so, IRGC intends to increase its knowledge on spies working for the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, commonly referred to as MI6.
This may assist in granting Iran leverage ahead of nuclear negotiations with the E3 (UK, France, and Germany) slated to occur later this year, the report noted. The E3 has threatened to restore the “snapback mechanism” on Iran’s sanctions if no progress is made in negotiations by August 30.
The Taliban’s “kill list” sought by the IRGC contains the names of Afghans who applied for asylum, including soldiers for the US-backed administration, which the Taliban ousted in 2021. Some of these soldiers worked with the British Army and were intelligence assets. It is believed that a portion of those on the “kill list” fled to Iran for their own safety when the Taliban took over.
Taliban soldiers celebrate on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Ali Khara TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
One Afghan who was allegedly on the list has recently been deported from Iran to Kabul, The Telegraph stated.
Taliban leadership also issued orders to arrest as many individuals named in the document as possible in order to exert diplomatic pressure on the UK, the report added.
Additionally, former members of the Taliban were evacuated to the UK after the document was leaked by a Royal Marine in 2022, The Telegraph revealed.
While they were flown out for their personal safety, some of those evacuated included suspected jihadists, sex offenders, corrupt officials, and those previously jailed by NATO forces, which raised concerns over poor background checks and vetting, the report added.
Iran is using allegations of espionage against Afghanistan as a pretext for mass arrests and deportations following June’s Israel-Iran war, the report alleged, stating that daily deportations rose from 2,000 to over 30,000.
Timeline of the leaked ‘kill list’
In February 2022, a Royal Marine Commando sent an email accidentally attaching the details of 25,000 Afghans who applied for relocation to the UK.
On August 14, 2023, an individual posted excerpts of the list on Facebook. The British Defense Ministry was made aware of the social media post on the same day.
On August 15, then-armed forces minister James Heappey warned that the Taliban may now have a “kill list essentially provided to them by the UK government.”
Between August 17 and 25, journalists contacted both the Defense and Foreign Ministries about the leak, but agreed not to publish any reports until those at risk from the leak could be protected.
On September 1, the Defense Ministry requested an injunction from the High Court, which agreed to grant a super-injunction.
On November 16, there was a meeting between then-prime minister Rishi Sunak and then-chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, where they discussed plans to establish a compensation scheme which would cost between £120-350 million.
On July 4, 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer was briefed about the data breach upon taking office.
On July 15, 2025, a high court justice lifted the super-injunction.
