BLACKEAGLE
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Alas, the world say otherwise.
Al Qaeda in Iran, Why Tehran is Accommodating the Terrorist Group?
- Thread starter BLACKEAGLE
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Arabian Legend
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al Qaeda Yasin al Suri Working From Iran
Why Is Iran Letting A Top al Qaeda Operative Pump Fighters And Cash Into Syria?
Senior al Qaeda operative Yasin al Suri — who is suspected of moving money and operatives into Syria since 2011 — is now running operations from Iran with the tacit blessing of the government, according to the U.S. government and reported by Rosiland Jordan of Al Jazeera.
"As head al Qaeda facilitator in Iran, al Suri is responsible for overseeing al Qaeda efforts to transfer experienced operatives and leaders from Pakistan to Syria, organizing and maintaining routes by which new recruits can travel to Syria via Turkey and assisting in the movement of al Qaeda external operatives to the West," an unnamed State Department official told Al Jazeera.
In 2011 the U.S. Treasury Department noted that al Suri, a native Syrian from Aleppo, had been operating within Iran's borders with the government's consent since 2005.
Th reported arrangement is puzzling, given Iran's staunch backing of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
As Thomas Joscelyn of the Long War Journal put it:
It is not clear why the Iranian government would allow al Suri to act as a facilitator for al Qaeda's operations inside Syria. Al Qaeda and Iran are on opposite sides of the Syrian war.
If anyone would know, it would be Iranian Major GeneralQassem Suleimani, who is the head of Revolutionary Guards Quds Force.
A former C.I.A. officer told Dexter Filkins of The New Yorker that Suleimani is the “most powerful operative in the Middle East today.”
The 56-year-old is personally handling Iran's extensive contributions to the Assad regime and has allowed al Qaeda operatives a degree of freedom in Iran since several arrived after 9/11.
Also of note is the potential role of Turkey, which has harbored al Qaeda financiers and allowed many extremists to pass from its territory into Syria.
Al Monitor reports that about a month ago, a high-ranking delegation from Iran visited met high-ranking Turkish officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara and "there was agreement on exchanging information and coordinating closely on the situation in Syria."
The al Qaeda-linked groups in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), have also been selling oil to the Assad regime while reportedly receiving money and recruits from al-Suri.
ISIS, the most extreme rebel faction in Syria, is dominated by foreigners. Activists claim that one ISIS leader who was captured in Aleppo held an Iranian passport.
Here's al Jazeera's report:
Read more: al Qaeda Yasin al Suri Working From Iran - Business Insider
Why Is Iran Letting A Top al Qaeda Operative Pump Fighters And Cash Into Syria?
Senior al Qaeda operative Yasin al Suri — who is suspected of moving money and operatives into Syria since 2011 — is now running operations from Iran with the tacit blessing of the government, according to the U.S. government and reported by Rosiland Jordan of Al Jazeera.
"As head al Qaeda facilitator in Iran, al Suri is responsible for overseeing al Qaeda efforts to transfer experienced operatives and leaders from Pakistan to Syria, organizing and maintaining routes by which new recruits can travel to Syria via Turkey and assisting in the movement of al Qaeda external operatives to the West," an unnamed State Department official told Al Jazeera.
In 2011 the U.S. Treasury Department noted that al Suri, a native Syrian from Aleppo, had been operating within Iran's borders with the government's consent since 2005.
Th reported arrangement is puzzling, given Iran's staunch backing of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
As Thomas Joscelyn of the Long War Journal put it:
It is not clear why the Iranian government would allow al Suri to act as a facilitator for al Qaeda's operations inside Syria. Al Qaeda and Iran are on opposite sides of the Syrian war.
If anyone would know, it would be Iranian Major GeneralQassem Suleimani, who is the head of Revolutionary Guards Quds Force.
A former C.I.A. officer told Dexter Filkins of The New Yorker that Suleimani is the “most powerful operative in the Middle East today.”
The 56-year-old is personally handling Iran's extensive contributions to the Assad regime and has allowed al Qaeda operatives a degree of freedom in Iran since several arrived after 9/11.
Also of note is the potential role of Turkey, which has harbored al Qaeda financiers and allowed many extremists to pass from its territory into Syria.
Al Monitor reports that about a month ago, a high-ranking delegation from Iran visited met high-ranking Turkish officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara and "there was agreement on exchanging information and coordinating closely on the situation in Syria."
The al Qaeda-linked groups in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), have also been selling oil to the Assad regime while reportedly receiving money and recruits from al-Suri.
ISIS, the most extreme rebel faction in Syria, is dominated by foreigners. Activists claim that one ISIS leader who was captured in Aleppo held an Iranian passport.
Here's al Jazeera's report:
Read more: al Qaeda Yasin al Suri Working From Iran - Business Insider
ResurgentIran
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Al Jazeera 
THE propaganda machines of Qatar, during Syrian civil war, when Qatar was sponsoring all sorts of groups (Muslim Brotherhood, Al Nusrah, ISIL etc).
Not just sponsoring Jihadi terrorists in Syria, but also in Libya, Mali, CAF etc.
Comedy.
THE propaganda machines of Qatar, during Syrian civil war, when Qatar was sponsoring all sorts of groups (Muslim Brotherhood, Al Nusrah, ISIL etc).
Not just sponsoring Jihadi terrorists in Syria, but also in Libya, Mali, CAF etc.
Comedy.
Shah9
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Al Qaeda is anti-Shia and Iran is a Shia country, so Iran and al Qaeda are enemies. Jordan and Saudi Arabia are known financiers and backers of alqaeda it was reported 19 highjackers on September 11 2001 were of Saudi national origin. And the king of Jordan as well as the monarchy in Saudi Arabia are nothing but Zionist puppets.
Here is a well known and educated Sunni scholar
Here is a well known and educated Sunni scholar
Arabi
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Iran is not Shia country, it's Safavid country ..
there is a big difference between Shia and Safavid!
The vast majority of irans population is Shia.
BLACKEAGLE
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that picture should be of bander bin sultan of Saudi Arabia and Netanyahu of Israel who are burning down Syria by supporting al aqaeda.
BLACKEAGLE
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The funny thing is that nobody listens to you..
BLACKEAGLE
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BLACKEAGLE
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Complex double game: Iran supporting Assad AND al-Qaeda?
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian-American political scientist and scholar as Harvard University, is president of the International American Council and he serves on the board of Harvard International Review at Harvard University. Rafizadeh is also a senior fellow at Nonviolence International Organization based in Washington DC, Harvard scholar, and a member of the Gulf project at Columbia University. He is originally from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syria. He has been a recipient of several scholarships and fellowship including from Oxford University, Annenberg University, University of California Santa Barbara, and Fulbright Teaching program. He served as ambassador for the National Iranian-American Council based in Washington DC, conducted research at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and taught at University of California Santa Barbara through Fulbright Teaching Scholarship. He can be reached at rafizadeh@fas.harvard.edu.
The United States Treasury Department in a report released this week has charged Iran for assisting al-Qaeda operatives based in the Islamic Republic. The charges have also been brought up because Tehran has allowed senior al-Qaeda members to conduct their operations from Iranian soil, according to the findings.
In addition, this Thursday’s allegations and accusations by the Treasury Department strongly indicated that some political figures in the Iranian government and its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been covertly and tacitly backing al-Qaeda and other opposition groups in Syria's civil war.
According to the Treasury Department, which is introducing new sanctions targeting Iranian terror links, “today the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the designation of a key Iran-based al-Qaeda facilitator who supports al-Qaeda’s vital facilitation network in Iran, that operates there with the knowledge of Iranian authorities.”
Transit point
The report also adds, “the network also uses Iran as a transit point for moving funding and foreign fighters through Turkey to support al-Qaeda-affiliated elements in Syria, including the al-Nusra Front.”
''Playing the al-Qaeda card has been one of the most effective strategies utilized by the Iranian and Syrian regimes''
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
Olimzhon Adkhamovich Sadikov— also known as Jafar al-Uzbeki and Jafar Muidinov—is characterized by the Treasury Department as an Iran-based Islamic Jihad Union facilitator. This facilitator “operates there with the knowledge of Iranian authorities,” and provides funding to al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network, along with logistical support as well.
The report has caused some confusion, primarily in the West, on how it would be possible for Iran to be supporting al-Qaeda with its other commitments in Syria? Western media, some policy analysts, politicians, scholars, and even the Treasury Department have found it difficult to offer an explanation on the possible reasons that would make Iranian leaders support al-Qaeda in Syria and in Afghanistan.
Iran’s complex game
The issue with deciphering the unclear link between Iran and al-Qaeda (or other extremist al-Qaeda linked groups such as al-Nusra and the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)), is that rational, logical analysis is mainly anchored in a binary system, whereas this situation resides in a more complex gray area.
This type of thinking has prevented many from properly analyzing Middle Eastern politics, particularly Iran’s domestic and foreign policy, with all its nuances and complicated details.
Those who are perplexed with this news, make the argument that if Iran is supporting the Assad regime, and if al-Qaeda is attempting to overthrow that regime, then Tehran cannot logically back al-Qaeda because they are on opposing sides of the conflict. Another argument comes down to religious alliances, citing that the Shiite ruling clerics in Iran are not naturally politically allied to Sunni groups.
The shortcomings of such analyses and perspectives are overlook the complicated and nuanced issues regarding Iran’s politics, rather categorizing conflicts into Sunni versus Shiite, Assad against oppositions, and so forth.
Not a bewilderment
If we take a close look at Iran’s realpolitik, its struggle for tipping the balance of power in its favor, as well as the geopolitical, geo-economic and geostrategic interests of the Islamic Republic, the notion that al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network has been operating for a while in Iranian soil with the assistance of IRGC forces, can be viewed as totally realistic.
Iran would allow and support al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network for several reasons. First of all, for the last three years— since the uprising erupted in Syria— both Tehran and Damascus have been playing a masterful political game with the United States and other Western powers by arguing that Assad’s regime is being targeted by terrorist enemies like al-Qaeda and its affiliations.
Playing the al-Qaeda card has been one of the most effective strategies utilized by the Iranian and Syrian regimes. According to several credible reports including Telegraph and Business Insider, in order to substantiate and bolster their arguments, Assad released the extremists and Iran provided them with the required platforms to continue this complex double game.
Reportedly, the al-Qaeda-linked groups in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have been selling oil to the Assad regime in exchange for money and recruits with the assistance of Tehran.
Powerful groups
Secondly, and more fundamentally, it is crucial to have a powerful extremist group on Iran’s side regardless of the religious affiliation of that group. From the Iranian leaders’ perspective, al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network can functions as powerful political leverage for the Islamic Republic over other countries in the region. al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network can be tacitly utilized in order to tip the balance of power in favor of Tehran.
Third, since the uprising erupted in Syria, the Islamic Republic has been considering other alternatives in case Assad’s apparatuses collapse. It is accurate to argue that Assad has been the staunchest geopolitical and geostrategic ally of Iran for decades, and it is also correct to point out that Tehran has been assisting Assad economically (with billions of dollars in credit), politically, through intelligence, advisory, and militarily.
But what matters for Tehran are power, geopolitics, its interests, regional hegemonic ambitions and the balance of power. Tehran will support Assad as long as it thinks that Assad can retain his power.
The moment that the regime collapses, Iran is likely to shift its political position and support any group that seems to come to power. From Iranian perspectives, the most powerful group among the oppositions in Syria are currently the al-Qaeda linked groups. As a result, having close ties with al-Qaeda is paramount for Iran in case Assad is overthrown. For now, keeping a relationship and supporting both al-Qaeda and Assad is political opportunism for Tehran.
Complex double game: Iran supporting Assad AND al-Qaeda? - Al Arabiya News
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian-American political scientist and scholar as Harvard University, is president of the International American Council and he serves on the board of Harvard International Review at Harvard University. Rafizadeh is also a senior fellow at Nonviolence International Organization based in Washington DC, Harvard scholar, and a member of the Gulf project at Columbia University. He is originally from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syria. He has been a recipient of several scholarships and fellowship including from Oxford University, Annenberg University, University of California Santa Barbara, and Fulbright Teaching program. He served as ambassador for the National Iranian-American Council based in Washington DC, conducted research at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and taught at University of California Santa Barbara through Fulbright Teaching Scholarship. He can be reached at rafizadeh@fas.harvard.edu.
The United States Treasury Department in a report released this week has charged Iran for assisting al-Qaeda operatives based in the Islamic Republic. The charges have also been brought up because Tehran has allowed senior al-Qaeda members to conduct their operations from Iranian soil, according to the findings.
In addition, this Thursday’s allegations and accusations by the Treasury Department strongly indicated that some political figures in the Iranian government and its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been covertly and tacitly backing al-Qaeda and other opposition groups in Syria's civil war.
According to the Treasury Department, which is introducing new sanctions targeting Iranian terror links, “today the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the designation of a key Iran-based al-Qaeda facilitator who supports al-Qaeda’s vital facilitation network in Iran, that operates there with the knowledge of Iranian authorities.”
Transit point
The report also adds, “the network also uses Iran as a transit point for moving funding and foreign fighters through Turkey to support al-Qaeda-affiliated elements in Syria, including the al-Nusra Front.”
''Playing the al-Qaeda card has been one of the most effective strategies utilized by the Iranian and Syrian regimes''
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
Olimzhon Adkhamovich Sadikov— also known as Jafar al-Uzbeki and Jafar Muidinov—is characterized by the Treasury Department as an Iran-based Islamic Jihad Union facilitator. This facilitator “operates there with the knowledge of Iranian authorities,” and provides funding to al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network, along with logistical support as well.
The report has caused some confusion, primarily in the West, on how it would be possible for Iran to be supporting al-Qaeda with its other commitments in Syria? Western media, some policy analysts, politicians, scholars, and even the Treasury Department have found it difficult to offer an explanation on the possible reasons that would make Iranian leaders support al-Qaeda in Syria and in Afghanistan.
Iran’s complex game
The issue with deciphering the unclear link between Iran and al-Qaeda (or other extremist al-Qaeda linked groups such as al-Nusra and the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)), is that rational, logical analysis is mainly anchored in a binary system, whereas this situation resides in a more complex gray area.
This type of thinking has prevented many from properly analyzing Middle Eastern politics, particularly Iran’s domestic and foreign policy, with all its nuances and complicated details.
Those who are perplexed with this news, make the argument that if Iran is supporting the Assad regime, and if al-Qaeda is attempting to overthrow that regime, then Tehran cannot logically back al-Qaeda because they are on opposing sides of the conflict. Another argument comes down to religious alliances, citing that the Shiite ruling clerics in Iran are not naturally politically allied to Sunni groups.
The shortcomings of such analyses and perspectives are overlook the complicated and nuanced issues regarding Iran’s politics, rather categorizing conflicts into Sunni versus Shiite, Assad against oppositions, and so forth.
Not a bewilderment
If we take a close look at Iran’s realpolitik, its struggle for tipping the balance of power in its favor, as well as the geopolitical, geo-economic and geostrategic interests of the Islamic Republic, the notion that al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network has been operating for a while in Iranian soil with the assistance of IRGC forces, can be viewed as totally realistic.
Iran would allow and support al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network for several reasons. First of all, for the last three years— since the uprising erupted in Syria— both Tehran and Damascus have been playing a masterful political game with the United States and other Western powers by arguing that Assad’s regime is being targeted by terrorist enemies like al-Qaeda and its affiliations.
Playing the al-Qaeda card has been one of the most effective strategies utilized by the Iranian and Syrian regimes. According to several credible reports including Telegraph and Business Insider, in order to substantiate and bolster their arguments, Assad released the extremists and Iran provided them with the required platforms to continue this complex double game.
Reportedly, the al-Qaeda-linked groups in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, have been selling oil to the Assad regime in exchange for money and recruits with the assistance of Tehran.
Powerful groups
Secondly, and more fundamentally, it is crucial to have a powerful extremist group on Iran’s side regardless of the religious affiliation of that group. From the Iranian leaders’ perspective, al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network can functions as powerful political leverage for the Islamic Republic over other countries in the region. al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network can be tacitly utilized in order to tip the balance of power in favor of Tehran.
Third, since the uprising erupted in Syria, the Islamic Republic has been considering other alternatives in case Assad’s apparatuses collapse. It is accurate to argue that Assad has been the staunchest geopolitical and geostrategic ally of Iran for decades, and it is also correct to point out that Tehran has been assisting Assad economically (with billions of dollars in credit), politically, through intelligence, advisory, and militarily.
But what matters for Tehran are power, geopolitics, its interests, regional hegemonic ambitions and the balance of power. Tehran will support Assad as long as it thinks that Assad can retain his power.
The moment that the regime collapses, Iran is likely to shift its political position and support any group that seems to come to power. From Iranian perspectives, the most powerful group among the oppositions in Syria are currently the al-Qaeda linked groups. As a result, having close ties with al-Qaeda is paramount for Iran in case Assad is overthrown. For now, keeping a relationship and supporting both al-Qaeda and Assad is political opportunism for Tehran.
Complex double game: Iran supporting Assad AND al-Qaeda? - Al Arabiya News
Arabian Legend
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Al-Qaeda figures or associates linked to Iran
This data is taken from a leaked top-secret 2008 document and updated with information gathered from interviews with current and former U.S. intelligence officials. Many of the al-Qaeda figures, some known only by their aliases, were listed as in Iranian custody. Dozens of al-Qaeda fighters fled to Iran after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but it's unclear how much freedom of movement they had in the country. Read more about departures from Iran
Abu Hafs the Mauritanian
Status: Returned to Mauritania in 2012
Bin Laden's religious adviser, al-Qaeda in Iran's expert on Islamic law. His proper name is Mahfouz Ould al-Walid
Abu al Kayr al Masri
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Chairman, al-Qaeda Management Council; former chief of foreign relations for al-Qaeda, including liaison to the Taliban; long-standing ties to current al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden
Saif al-Adel
Status: Presumed to be in Iran
Member of al-Qaeda Management Council; involved in planning terrorist operations and directing al-Qaeda propaganda efforts; former chief of military operations; worked closely with Abu Muhammad al-Masri
Abu Muhammad al-Masri
Status: Presumed to be in Iran
Member of al-Qaeda Management Council; most experienced and capable operational planner not in U.S. or allied custody; former chief of training; worked closely with Saif al-Adel
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith
Status: In U.S. custody
Member of al-Qaeda Management Council; official spokesman for al-Qaeda before detention
Abu Dahhak, aka Ali Saleh Husain al-Tabuki
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Facilitator; former representative of Chechen mujahideen in Afghanistan
Abu Layth al-Libi, aka Ali Ammar Ashur al-Rufayi'l
Status: Killed in U.S. drone strike
Paramilitary commander; active in Eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan-Afghanistan border region; exercises significant autonomy; enjoys long-standing ties to senior managers
Abd al-Aziz al-Masri, aka Ali Sayed Muhammad Mustafa Al-Bakri
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Al-Qaeda associate; senior poisons and explosives expert; involved in nuclear research since late 1990s; had close relationships with Saif al-Adel and Khalid Sheik Muhammad.
Abu Dujana al-Masri
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Explosives instructor before detention; member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad; Zawahiri son-in-law
Muhammad Ahmad Shawqi al-Islambuli, aka Muhammad Ahmad Shawqi Islambouli
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Al-Qaeda facilitator; senior member of Egyptian Al-Gamaat Al-Islamiyah; former ties to Iranian Ministry of Intelligence; brother of Anwar Sadat assassin Khalid al Islambuli.
This data is taken from a leaked top-secret 2008 document and updated with information gathered from interviews with current and former U.S. intelligence officials. Many of the al-Qaeda figures, some known only by their aliases, were listed as in Iranian custody. Dozens of al-Qaeda fighters fled to Iran after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but it's unclear how much freedom of movement they had in the country. Read more about departures from Iran
Abu Hafs the Mauritanian
Status: Returned to Mauritania in 2012
Bin Laden's religious adviser, al-Qaeda in Iran's expert on Islamic law. His proper name is Mahfouz Ould al-Walid
Abu al Kayr al Masri
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Chairman, al-Qaeda Management Council; former chief of foreign relations for al-Qaeda, including liaison to the Taliban; long-standing ties to current al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden
Saif al-Adel
Status: Presumed to be in Iran
Member of al-Qaeda Management Council; involved in planning terrorist operations and directing al-Qaeda propaganda efforts; former chief of military operations; worked closely with Abu Muhammad al-Masri
Abu Muhammad al-Masri
Status: Presumed to be in Iran
Member of al-Qaeda Management Council; most experienced and capable operational planner not in U.S. or allied custody; former chief of training; worked closely with Saif al-Adel
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith
Status: In U.S. custody
Member of al-Qaeda Management Council; official spokesman for al-Qaeda before detention
Abu Dahhak, aka Ali Saleh Husain al-Tabuki
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Facilitator; former representative of Chechen mujahideen in Afghanistan
Abu Layth al-Libi, aka Ali Ammar Ashur al-Rufayi'l
Status: Killed in U.S. drone strike
Paramilitary commander; active in Eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan-Afghanistan border region; exercises significant autonomy; enjoys long-standing ties to senior managers
Abd al-Aziz al-Masri, aka Ali Sayed Muhammad Mustafa Al-Bakri
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Al-Qaeda associate; senior poisons and explosives expert; involved in nuclear research since late 1990s; had close relationships with Saif al-Adel and Khalid Sheik Muhammad.
Abu Dujana al-Masri
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Explosives instructor before detention; member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad; Zawahiri son-in-law
Muhammad Ahmad Shawqi al-Islambuli, aka Muhammad Ahmad Shawqi Islambouli
Status: Presumed to have at one point been in Iran
Al-Qaeda facilitator; senior member of Egyptian Al-Gamaat Al-Islamiyah; former ties to Iranian Ministry of Intelligence; brother of Anwar Sadat assassin Khalid al Islambuli.
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