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Source: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/782ppuml.asp
Tehran Plays Host to Al-Qaeda
(Weekly Standard) Dan Darling - "Iran continues to host senior al-Qaeda leaders who are wanted for murdering Americans and other victims in the 1998 East Africa Embassy bombings....Some al-Qaeda members and those from like-minded extremist groups continue to use Iran as a safe haven and as a hub to facilitate their operations," said Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns on November 30. Iran has long maintained ties to al-Qaeda and has assisted the group in refining its terrorist capabilities. During the years of Taliban rule, Tehran allowed al-Qaeda members, including some future 9/11 hijackers, to transit its territory en route to and from Afghanistan. To this day, much of the surviving al-Qaeda leadership is based in Iran, enjoying the protection of the Revolutionary Guards Corps. Tehran has been supporting terrorist groups ever since the mullahs came to power in 1979.