"We don’t have to be concerned with Iran's efforts to influence Afghanistan any more .. they are going to be obsessed with their own problems.."

WIRED's Danger-Room, here

"...It’s not just young students who are changing their minds about Iran. Mohammad Rafek Shahir, an Afghan constitutional law professor and head of Herat’s “Council of Experts,” a local professional body, told Smucker: “We are impressed with the Iranians and their struggle for change, but with what has happened in the past weeks, Iran’s influence here has been devastated. We don’t have to be concerned with their efforts to influence Afghanistan any more since they are going to be obsessed with their own internal problems for some time to come.”

Iran’s influence in Herat is not to be understated. The city is linked to Iran’s electrical grid, and its economy depends on cross-border trade; Iran’s intelligence services are said to use Herat as a key listening post. If Iran has in fact diminished its prestige with the people of Herat, it will be interesting to see how recent turmoil inside Iran may more broadly reshape relations with its neighbors — and with national leaders like Afghan President Hamid Karzai "