An Asian militia that once forced the United States into a humiliating withdrawal after its longest war is now signaling it will side with Iran if a new conflict erupts, raising the specter of Washington’s past battlefield defeat coming back to haunt it in the Middle East. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has warned that Afghans are ready to “sympathize and cooperate” with Tehran if the US launches strikes, praising Iran’s performance in the June 2025 12‑day war with the US and Israel and hinting that any Trump‑era gambit to pressure Iran could boomerang into a wider anti‑American alignment across the region.