U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda, saying the country had become a “home base” for the terrorist group.
In a speech a week before he resigned, Pompeo confirmed a report in the November New York Times that al-Qaeda’s second leader was killed in Tehran last summer. The report said Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who used the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was killed by Israeli representatives at U.S. command.
Abdullah has been sought for his alleged role in planning the devastating attacks on two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 and an attack in 2002 on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya.
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Iran denied a report on the Israeli massacre and Pompeo did not say who was behind the targeted killings in his comments to the National Press Club.
Al-Qaeda has a new home base. The Islamic Republic of Iran. As a result, Bin Laden’s vicious creation is ready to gain strength and abilities. We will avoid this Iran-al-Qaeda nexus at our own risk, ”said Pompeo.
Composite: The Ambassador of the United States and other damaged buildings in central Nairobi, Kenya, are on display on the day after the terrorist bombing, Aug. 8, 1998. (Photo AP / Dave Caulkin, file); Small frame: Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Masri, in an FBI role offering a reward for information about his whereabouts. (Screenshot / fbi.gov)
Pompeo said that because of America’s efforts to eradicate the terrorist group after 9/11, al-Qaeda was looking for a new port and found one in Iran, which he named “the right choice.” According to Pompeo, “maritime change was taking place within the Iran-al-Qaeda axis” in 2015, when Iran’s nuclear deal was terminated.
“Iran has decided to allow al-Qaeda to establish a new headquarters, provided that al-Qaeda adheres to government rules governing al-Qaeda’s stay within the country, organization and control. , “Pompeo said, citing” modern “information.
He said Iran was giving al-Qaeda leaders “greater freedom of movement” under their leadership and that Iran’s ministry and the Revolutionary Guards had provided travel documents and ID cards “which allowed al-Qaeda activity.” al-Qaeda is “led” in Iran.
“Tehran has allowed al-Qaeda to raise money, communicate freely with al-Qaeda members around the world, and perform many other duties“ previously led by other countries, ”he said.
“Iran is indeed the new Afghanistan,” Pompeo said, adding that it is “really worse” because the U.S. has less information and fewer options to attack. .
He said the Iran-al-Qaeda axis “threatens the progress of the Abraham Accords as well,” citing the recently broken U.S. treaty agreements that Israel signed with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.
“If al-Qaeda can use terrorist attacks in the region to dissuade countries from joining the warm peace with Israel, we risk halting a generational movement for peace in the Middle East,” “he said.
Pompeo also warned the alliance between Iran and al-Qaeda the threat of terrorist attacks around the world, saying Western countries could be targeted and that the Syrian civil war could be exacerbated by al-Qaeda fighters.
“This is a terrorist group buried deep within a nationalist state with advanced capabilities,” he said of Iran’s alleged support for the terrorist group. “Think of the danger to America, think of the danger to Israel, Saudi Arabia.”
He urged more international pressure, calling the alliance accused of “a great force for evil around the world. “
U.S. President Donald Trump’s chief diplomat Donald Trump has stopped pushing for military action, saying: “If we had that choice, if we chose to do so, there is a far greater risk of losing it. put it into action. “
But he announced sanctions on several individuals and a $ 7 million reward for information on an al-Qaeda member he said was believed to be Iran who was identified as either Muhammad Abbatay or Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi.
An award poster is on display at the National Press Club in Washington on January 12, 2021. (Andrew Harnik / Pool / AFP)
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed Pompeo’s allegations and highlighted U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia.
“No one is deceived,” Zarif tweeted. “All 9/11 terrorists” came from Pompeo’s “favorite Middle East” destinations, he said. “NOT from Iran.”
The Trump administration has launched a year-long campaign against Iran that has included harsh sanctions, withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and the general assassination of Iran’s Qassem Soleimani. Donald Trump is ready to step down on January 20th.
The news is likely to further complicate Biden’s incoming administration’s stated goal of reconnecting with Tehran.
It is unclear why Iran would harbor al-Qaeda workers. Iran is a Shiite state, and has fought with al-Qaeda, a Sunni jihadist group. Experts told the New York Times that Iran may detain al-Qaeda members to prevent attacks in Iran, or allow them to take action against the US.
Iran is cooperating with the Sunni terrorist groups based in Gaza Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The U.S. and Iran have engaged in an ongoing exchange in recent weeks as the Trump administration comes to an end with Iran marking the anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination.
Back and forth there are threats, arms movements, legal action and the reduction of Iranian breaches of the nuclear deal.
Organizations contributed to this report.