Afghan president Hamid Karzai has admitted that his chief of staff had received bags of money from Iran, but insisted the payment was transparent and a form of aid from a friendly country. Mr. Karzai told a press conference in Kabul that cash payments are done by various friendly countries to help the presidential office and to help the expenses. Mr. Karzai said the government of Iran has been assisting his country with five or six or 700,000 euros once or twice every year and that is an official aid. On Saturday, The New York Times reported that Mr. Karzai's chief of staff, Umar Daudzai, has been receiving regular cash payments from Iran. The newspaper, citing unnamed Afghan officials said the payments total millions of dollars and go into a secret fund Mr. Daudzai and Mr Karzai have used to pay Afghan politicians, tribal elders and even Taliban commanders to secure their loyalty.