The US Secretary of State is expected to reveal intelligence documents indicating cooperation between the Iranian regime and the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, senior US State Department officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
Previously published reports of links between the Shiite ayatollahs’ regime and the Sunni terrorist organization have been met with skepticism from the international intelligence community and even the entire U.S. Congress. Last August, al-Qaeda commander Abu Muhammad al-Masri was assassinated in Tehran in an assassination attempt by foreign sources on Israel.
The Reuters news agency claimed that Pompeo intended to reveal the information in a special speech at the Washington Press Club. The report claims that it is not clear how much the Secretary of State intends to disclose, but it is possible that this is information related to the assassination of al-Masri and the circumstances in which he was in Tehran.
Sources close to US President-elect Joe Biden have told the news agency that Pompeo’s goal in disclosing the information is to make it difficult for the new administration to negotiate with Iran, by pointing out its ties to other US enemies in the Middle East.
Iran has in the past also maintained ties with Sunni organizations and countries when it suited its set of interests. Tehran supports Hamas and Islamic Jihad, even though the two organizations sided with the rebels during the Syrian civil war. Tehran has also maintained good relations with dictator Omar al-Bashir in Sudan, an ally of al-Qaeda.