Afghan “President Hamid Karzai acknowledged on Monday [October 25, 2010] that he regularly receives bags of cash from the Iranian government in payments amounting to millions of dollars, as evidence mounted of a worsening rift between his government and its American and NATO supporters. …’They do give us bags of money–yes, yes, it is done,’ Mr. Karzai said, responding to questions about a report in The New York Times on Sunday that Iran sends regular cash payments to his chief of staff, Umar Daudzai. ‘We are grateful to the Iranians for this.’ ‘Patriotism has a price,’ he said. Afghan and Western officials said the Iranian payments were intended to drive a wedge between Mr. Karzai and the United States and NATO.”
– Dexter Filkins and Alissa J. Rubin, “Afghan Leader Admits His Office Gets Cash from Iran,” The New York Times, Oct. 25, 2010