The commander of the United States Central Command (Centcom) Gen. Frank McKenzie, says There has been an increase in Iranian activity in Afghanistan that poses a risk to American and coalition troops there.

During his last week’s unannounced visit to Afghanistan, Gen. McKenzie told the reporters that he sees a “worrisome trend,” of Iranian malign interference.

He added: Iran has always sort of dabbled a little bit in Afghanistan, but they see perhaps an opportunity to get after us and the coalition here through their proxies. So, we are very concerned about that here as we go forward.”

Iran has been accused of providing the Taliban with funds, weapons, and equipment.

After the head of Iran’s Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani was killed by the United States in Iraq, the Taliban was among the groups that condemned the operation.

Afghan officials have also expressed concerns about Iran’s support of the Taliban.

Last Monday, an American plane crashed in Afghanistan and two American officers on board were killed. Taliban took responsibility for the attack, but official investigation is yet to announce the cause of the crash.

There are currently between 12000 to 13000 American troops stationed in Afghanistan.