JANUARY 12, 20211:53 AMUPDATED 7 HOURS AGO
Pompeo, in Tuesday speech, to accuse Iran of al Qaeda links: sources
By Humeyra Pamuk, Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to use newly
declassified U.S. intelligence on Tuesday to publicly accuse Iran of ties to al
Qaeda, two people familiar with the matter said, as part of his last-minute
offensive against Tehran before handing over to the incoming Biden
administration.FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the
media in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 24, 2020. Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS
With just eight days left in office for President Donald Trump, Pompeo is
expected to offer details on allegations that Iran has given safe haven to al
Qaeda leaders and support for the group, the sources said, despite some
skepticism within the intelligence community and Congress.
It was not immediately clear how much Pompeo intends to reveal in his speech to
the National Press Club in Washington on Tuesday. He could cite declassified
information on the killing of al Qaeda’s suspected second-in-command in Tehran
in August, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The New York Times reported in November that Abu Muhammad al-Masri, accused of
helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, was
gunned down by Israeli operatives in Iran. Iran denied the report, saying there
were no al Qaeda “terrorists” on its soil.
Iran has been a target throughout the Trump administration and Pompeo has
sought to further ratchet up pressure on Iran in recent weeks with more
sanctions and heated rhetoric.
Advisers to President-elect Joe Biden believe the Trump administration is
trying to make it harder for him to re-engage with Iran and seek to rejoin an
international deal on Iran’s nuclear program.MORE SANCTIONS
Pompeo has accused Iran of links to al Qaeda in the past but has not provided
concrete evidence.
“There have been times the Iranians have worked alongside al Qaeda,” then CIA
director Pompeo said in October 2017.
Earlier accusations by the George W. Bush administration of Iranian links to al
Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States have been discredited. But
reports have surfaced over the years of al Qaeda operatives hiding out in Iran.
A former senior U.S. intelligence official with direct knowledge of the issue
said the Iranians were never friendly with al Qaeda before or after the Sept.
11 attacks and any claims of current cooperation should be viewed
warily.Shi’ite Iran and al Qaeda, a Sunni Muslim militant organization, have
long been sectarian foes.
Relations between Tehran and Washington have deteriorated since 2018 when Trump
abandoned Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which imposed strict curbs on its nuclear
activities in return for the lifting of sanctions.
Since the beginning of his administration, Trump has imposed sanctions on
Iranian officials, politicians and companies in an effort to force Tehran to
negotiate a broader deal that further limits its nuclear work.
And more sanctions are expected before Trump leaves office, U.S. officials say.
While sanctions have sharply lowered Tehran’s oil exports and increased the
economic hardship of ordinary Iranians, it has failed to bring Iran back to the
negotiating table.
Biden has said the United States will rejoin the nuclear deal “if Iran resumes
strict compliance.”Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball, Editing by Rosalba
O’BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
❣️❣️❣️ شورش زندانیان #تيك_تاك_سرنگوني # شهرهای شورشی 🌳🍒
❤️🌳#مجاهدین_خلق ایران #ایران # کانونهای شورشی ️❣️❣️❣️
️❣️❣️❣️ #ایرج_مصداقی_اسقاطی # مزدور _نفوذی_مصداقی❤️🌳🌹
❤️🌳💧#coronavirus #COVID2019 #IranRegimeChange❤️🌳💧
❤ ️🌳💧#انحلال_سپاه_پاسداران #ما بر اندازیم #شهادت_ميدهم #اعدام نکنید❤️🌳💧
🍒🌳🌹تگ ما را در توئیتر با حساب توئیتری 7 @Bahar iran دنبال کنید ️❣️❣️❣
