July 29th, 2011

US Exposes Direct Ties Between Iran and Al Qaeda Terrorists: White House Swings Into "Oratorical Action"

Posted by: Barry Secrest
Published on July 29th, 2011 @ 10:08:03 am , using 443 words

Posted in Events and Issues: Credible Resources

UK Telegraph

The US has accused Iran of entering into a “secret deal” with an al-Qaeda offshoot that provides money and recruits for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on six men accused of operating the terror network.

Iran-based Ezedine Abdel Aziz Khalil, aka Yasin al-Sura, was named as a “senior al-Qaeda facilitator” who has operated from inside Iran since 2005 “under an agreement between al-Qaeda and the Iranian government”.

Khalil launders al-Qaeda money and recruits from across the Middle East through Iran and then to Pakistan “for the benefit of al-Qaeda senior leaders,” the Treasury said in a statement.

Pakistan-based Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, formerly Osama bin Laden’s “emissary in Iran” was also named on the list. Rahman is currently al-Qaeda’s overall commander in Pakistan’s tribal areas, it said.

Four others – Umid Muhammadi, Salim Hasan Khalifa Rashid al-Kuwari, Abdallah Ghanim Mafuz Muslim al-Khawar, and Ali Hasan Ali al-Ajmi – were also named as part the operation working through and in Iran, the Treasury said.

The announcement was made despite disagreements in the US intelligence community about the extent of direct links between the Iranian government and al-Qaeda, officials said. Most analysts agree there is a murky relationship between the two and at least some co-operation.

Yesterday’s allegations go further. The US Treasury said its exposure of the clandestine agreement would disrupt al-Qaeda operations by shedding light on Iran’s role as a “critical transit point” for money and extremists reaching Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“This network serves as the core pipeline through which al-Qaeda moves money, facilitators and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia,” a statement said.

The commander of US special operations forces earlier stated bin Laden’s al-Qaeda is bloodied and “nearing its end”. Admiral Eric T Olson of the Navy Seals described the killing of bin Laden on May 2 as a near-mortal blow for what he called “al-Qaeda 1.0”.

However, he warned of the fight to come against what he called al-Qaeda 2.0, with new leaders such as the American-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, who Adm Olson said, understands America better than Americans understand him.