DNI, Treasury Dept Speak of Iran, Al-Qaeda Links
Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, says that Osama Bin Laden’s eldest son, Saad, has been harbored in Iran but recently left the country, probably for Pakistan. After 9/11, the federal government now says, Saad acted as a liaison between Iran and Al-Qaeda, arranging for the movement of members of his family to Iran in 2002 (it should be mentioned that there’s a significant amount of reporting indicating that Osama himself went to Iran in 2002).
Saad also acted as a courier between Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Al-Quds Force after Al-Qaeda attacked the U.S. embassy in Yemen in 2008. Although I have not had anyone confirm to me the authenticity of the document, the British press reported on a letter that was intercepted where Zawahiri thanked the Iranians for their assistance in Yemen which allowed them to carry out the attack. This latest government confirmation that Saad acted as Zawahiri’s liaison with Iran after the attack seems to support the British report, which earlier also identified Saad as the go-between. An Arab paper also reported that a senior Al-Qaeda terrorist in Yemen, Naif Muhammad Al-Kahtani, AKA Abu Hamam, was receiving financing from Iran to carry out attacks in that country and Saudi Arabia. It is hard to tell if Iran actually worked with Al-Qaeda to carry out the car bombing in Yemen last year, but we now have several reports indicating there was some collusion in regards to terrorism in the Gulf.
The Long War Journal added, citing a “senior U.S. intelligence official” that Zawahiri had communicated to Iran his concern that he was “Zawahiri was concerned that the al Qaeda-manned militia fighting on the side of the government against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels might threaten Iran’s interests in Yemen.” LWJ adds that Yemen has integrated Al-Qaeda members into a militia, and a top Al-Qaeda leader in Yemen has admitted that its been working with the Yemeni Political Security Organization in launching attacks because Yemen wants to appear to be an ally in the War on Terror.
Furthermore, the Treasury Department just blacklisted four high-level Al-Qaeda members that it says are living in Iran–Saad Bin Laden (who just left Iran in September but was there since 2001), Mustafa Hamid, Muhammad Ra’ba al-Sayid al-Bahtiti and Ali Saleh Husain; all members of the Shura Council of Al-Qaeda. Back in June, three Al-Qaeda financiers in Iran were blacklisted by the Treasury Department. The Al-Qaeda presence doesn’t consist of low-level operatives who happen to slip across the border–they are an organized unit and the mullahs have to be aware of it.
The Treasury Dept provides detail on two individuals’ ties to Iran beyond safe harbor:
Mustafa Hamid: Serves as a liaison between Iranian government and Al-Qaeda; and “reportedly” negotiated an agreement in the mid-1990s between Iran and Bin Laden so Al-Qaeda members could travel to Afghanistan through Iranian territory. Hamid later acted as a go-between for the Taliban and Iran in the late 1990s, and in late 2001, operated in Tehran and passed messages to the Iranian government from the Taliban. During negotiations to allow for the families of more Al-Qaeda members to receive safe harbor in Iran, Hamid met in Tehran with Abu Hafs the Mauritanian, a senior Al-Qaeda operative, and two commanders from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which resulted in the family of one senior Al-Qaeda terrorist moving in with Hamid in Tehran. In 2002, Hamid acted as a liason between the IRGC and another “senior Al-Qaeda commander,” until he was arrested by Iran in mid-2003 when the regime publicly cracked down on the Al-Qaeda elements in the country.
Al-Bahtiti: Negotiated housing arrangements for Al-Qaeda members in Iran, including Ayman al-Zawahiri’s family, on Zawahiri’s orders. Al-Bahtiti is married to one of his daughters.
Husain: An Al-Qaeda member with close ties to Osama Bin Laden, in April 2002 in Iran he was used by Al-Qaeda to get travel documents and was “given responsibility for operation meetings for attacks against Israel.” He ran a network based in Zahedan to smuggle members of the terrorist group into Iran. It should be noted that Rep. Curt Weldon’s Iranian source, “Ali,” which provided him with intelligence, much of which proved accurate, said that Bin Laden himself was receiving medical treatment near Zahedan in early 2003, specifically at a place called Ladiz, only 80 kilometers southeast of the location.
LWJ continues to list more Al-Qaeda members in Iran:
“Many al Qaeda operatives fled to Iran after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Iran claims the al Qaeda operatives are in detention, yet the government refuses to extradite the terrorists to their home countries for prosecution. Senior al Qaeda leaders sheltering in Iran include Saif al Adel, al Qaeda’s senior strategic planner; Suleiman Abu Ghaith, one of al Qaeda’s official spokesmen; Abu Hafs the Mauritanian, a senior al Qaeda cleric and operations commander; and Hamza bin Laden, Osama’s son and an operational commander. The leaders are said to be located in safe house run by Iran’s Qods Force in Lavizan and Mashod.”
Experts debate the level of freedom Al-Qaeda members “under arrest” in Iran since 2003 have. Bill Roggio at The Weekly Standard linked to this article to make the case that Al-Qaeda was still operating in Iran despite the regime’s claims. The article lists additional leaders in Iran, bringing the number of Bin Laden’s sons in the country to three. Looks to me that the Treasury Department’s blacklisting pretty much confirm that Al-Qaeda and Iran have an operational relationship, rather than mere contacts as is often alleged.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:44 am
[...] al-Qaeda’s presence inside the country is well-documented. On January 16, the Treasury Department placed sanctions on several high-level al-Qaeda operatives in Iran. The Department indictment clearly states that [...]