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PoAl-Qaeda Has New Home Base in Iran

(U.S. State Department) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed at the National Press Club in Washington on Tuesday that Abu Muhammad al-Masri, al-Qaeda's worldwide number two, was shot to death in Tehran on Aug. 7, 2020. "Al-Masri's presence inside Iran points to...[the fact that] al-Qaeda has a new home base: it is the Islamic Republic of Iran. As a result, bin Laden's wicked creation is poised to gain strength and capabilities. We ignore this Iran-al-Qaeda nexus at our own peril. We need to acknowledge it. We must confront it. Indeed, we must defeat it." "We had al-Qaeda on the ropes after 9/11, thanks to sustained efforts....That effort drove al-Qaeda to search for a safer haven, and they found one. The Islamic Republic of Iran was the perfect choice. Al-Qaeda has, in fact, carried on a relationship with Tehran for nearly three decades, as the 9/11 Commission clearly established." "After 9/11, hundreds of al-Qaeda terrorists and their families fleeing America's righteous vengeance took refuge there inside of Iran. A letter from bin Laden, found by the Navy SEALS during the Abbottabad raid, sums up the relationship since 9/11 very well: 'Iran is our main artery for funds, personnel, and communication.'" "Iran decided to allow al-Qaeda to establish a new operational headquarters....Since 2015, Iran has also given al-Qaeda leaders greater freedom of movement inside of Iran....The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security and the IRGC have provided safe havens and logistical support - things like travel documents, ID cards, passports - that enable al-Qaeda activity. As a result of this assistance, al-Qaeda has centralized its leadership inside of Tehran. Ayman al-Zawahiri's deputies are there today." "You now have the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the home base for al-Qaeda. They are partners in terrorism, partners in hate. This axis poses a grave threat to the security of nations and to the American homeland itself. I would say Iran is, indeed, the new Afghanistan - as the key geographic hub for al-Qaeda - but it's actually worse. Unlike in Afghanistan, when al-Qaeda was hiding in the mountains, al-Qaeda today is operating underneath the hard shell of the Iranian regime's protection." "Let's not tolerate Iran giving al-Qaeda a second wind. Let's not downplay the danger of Sunni-Shia cooperation in terror. Let's not lie to the American people about Iranian moderation and pretend appeasement will work....The Islamic Republic of Iran has given a new operational headquarters to the terrorist network with more American blood on its hands than any other - people who are plotting fresh atrocities from Tehran....We see the true nature of the Iranian regime, and we refuse to indulge it."
2021-01-14 00:00:00
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