Defence Minister Peter MacKay, in Afghanistan spending Christmas with Canadian soldiers, says he is concerned about weapons "coming in from Iran" for the Taliban.

MacKay and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier arrived at Kandahar Air Field on Monday. Their arrival was kept quiet until Tuesday for security reasons.

MacKay told reporters that he was concerned that Iran has been providing insurgents with improvised explosive devices.

Afghanistan has "very negative influences coming in from other countries -- Pakistan, certainly Iran in particular," he said.

"We're very concerned that weapons are coming in from Iran, we're very concerned these weapons are going to the insurgents and keeping this issue alive."

MacKay said Canada has approached the Iranian government numerous times about the issue.

Most of Canada's 73 combat deaths since 2002 have resulted from roadside IEDs and not combat.

CTV's Murray Oliver, reporting from Kandahar, said it was the first time a high-ranking Canadian official has identified Iran as helping the Taliban.

"It was really surprising to hear Iran singled out so strongly by the defence minister as a country that is contributing to the harm of Canadian troops," Oliver told CTV Newsnet. "I think we are going to hear a lot more about this Iran-Taliban connection in the coming weeks."

The alliance is surprising considering the Taliban were mortal enemies with Iran while they were in government, he said.

"Of course, as the saying goes, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,'" Oliver said.

David Wilkins, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, traveled with MacKay and Hillier during their trip.

"Certainly the Americans have been sending out messages recently that they believe there is much more Iranian involvement in Afghanistan than has been widely reported," Oliver said.

But he also noted that NATO officials think that any Iranian assistance might not be coming from the government itself, but factions within the government. If true, that would make a diplomatic solution more complex, Oliver said.

Christmas dinner

On Monday, MacKay and Hillier spent the day visiting troops at forward operating bases.

The pair joined about 1,000 soldiers for Christmas dinner at the airfield on Tuesday.

Oliver said the mood at the dinner was upbeat and that Hillier remains enormously popular with Canadian soldiers.  "The troops genuinely admire him and like him," he said. "His popularity really helped to lift the mood at the dinner."

At the dinner, MacKay told the troops they were giving Afghanistan a wonderful gift.

"What greater gift could we ever bring to a people, to a country, than peace and security and a quality of life, and a beautiful expectation that families, children can grow up and achieve their dreams," he said.

Oliver said the message to the troops at the dinner was that "Canada loves you, Canada supports you and we all admire the work that you're doing.

"Which is generally true ... although, of course, polls have shown that support for the mission in Canada is slipping," he said.

Oliver also said despite the holiday celebrations, it's not a happy time for Canada's mission.

"This is the bloodiest year for Canada's Armed Forces since this mission began," he said, adding that development assistance for Afghans is also proceeding slowly.

Harper's message

In his annual Christmas message, Prime Minister Stephen Harper used the Afghan mission as a symbol of what's great about Canada.

"Of all the joys of the season, perhaps none is more satisfying than the joy of giving. Not just the gifts exchanged between family and friends, but the gifts of time, money and effort many give to people less fortunate than ourselves," he said.

"That spirit of generosity is one of the things that defines us as Canadians and its purest expression today is the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, where our soldiers, diplomats and aid workers are, at great cost to themselves helping the Afghan people rebuild their shattered country."

With a report from CTV's Murray Oliver