Afghan Leader Admits His Office Gets Cash From Iran

KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai acknowledged Monday that his chief of staff had taken money from the Iranian government, confirming a report in The New York Times. He said the cash was used to pay for presidential expenses.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, and his Tajikistan counterpart, Emomali Rahmon, during a news conference on Monday.

His government will continue to receive the payments, which amount to no more than about $1 million twice a year, he said at a news conference with the visiting president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, adding that the money is part of a relationship between neighbors.

“They have asked for good relations in return, and for lots of other things in return,” Mr. Karzai said of the Iranians.

“And we have also asked for lots of things in return in this relationship. This is a relationship between neighbors, and it will go on and we will continue to ask for cash help from Iran.”

“This is transparent,” Mr. Karzai said, maintaining that the United States had long been well aware of the Iranian money. “This is something that I’ve even discussed while I was at Camp David with President Bush.”

He said that the United States had also given him cash.

“They do give us bags of money,” he said. “Yes, yes, they do. It’s all the same. So let’s not make this an issue.”

The article in The Times said that Umar Daudzai, the president’s chief of staff, received between $1 million and $2 million every other month from Iran and that the money, effectively a slush fund, was distributed to Afghan lawmakers, tribal elders and even Taliban commanders to secure their loyalty.

Mr. Karzai said that the Iranian money was used to pay expenses in his office and that he had instructed Mr. Daudzai to accept it. The money is given “to help the presidential office and to help dispense assistance in various ways to the employees here and to people outside,” he said.

Mr. Karzai denounced The Times and called on the Afghan news media to “defame The New York Times just as they have defamed us.”

He said that The Times published the article in an effort to tarnish Mr. Daudzai because he had taken a strong stand on terminating the use of private security companies. The security companies have become an explosive issue in the last few days because Western countries and private contractors say they will have to halt projects in Afghanistan if they are not able to protect their employees.

While the United States government has backed Mr. Karzai’s proposal to phase them out, it says that until the Afghan Army and police are better trained and well established, especially in insecure areas of the country, they cannot be relied on to protect Western and Afghan employees.

On Sunday, Mr. Karzai requested a list of national aid projects that needed protection by private security guards, signaling a possible compromise over the security companies, The Associated Press reported.

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