Iran, Pakistan and AlQaeda - it's complicated

Iran arresting Al Qaeda is nothing new:

Several senior Al-Qaeda leaders reportedly fled to Iran when the US military invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

16 Jul 2005 – Iran says it has arrested more than 1000 members of al-Qaeda since the Taliban regime collapsed in Afghanistan in 2001

The United States has accused Iran of complicity with al Qaeda. But Tehran denies harbouring Al-Qaeda members. In July 2011, the United States said Iran gave sanctuary to an al Qaeda network that provides help to jihadists moving between the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"This network serves as the core pipeline through which al Qaeda moves money, facilitators and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia," the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

"By exposing Iran's secret deal with al Qaeda allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory, we are illuminating yet another aspect of Iran's unmatched support for terrorism," a Treasury official who focuses on terrorism and financial intelligence, David S. Cohen, said.

Some things to consider about Iran and al Qaeda:

• If Iran is so keen on rounding up al Qaeda operatives, then why did it release numerous top al Qaeda leaders, including Saif al Adel (current interim leader of al Qaeda), Atiyah Abd al Rahman, Abu Hafs al Mauritania, and Sulaiman Abu Ghaith from its "custody?"
• Why does Iran continue maintaining its "secret deal with al Qaeda allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory"?
• What is the status of Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, who the US described as "a prominent Iran-based al Qaeda facilitator"?
• Why does Iran's Qods Force continue to operate the Ansar Corps, the command that supports the Taliban and aids al Qaeda fighters with entering Afghanistan?
• Why was Salahuddin al Maqdisi, an aide to Abu Musab al Zarqawi, recently released from Iranian "custody" so he could wage jihad in Afghanistan?

Since December, Iran has announced the arrest of at least nine al Qaeda members.

On Tue Sep 6, 2011 official news agency IRNA reported Iranian police arrested five al Qaeda members in an eastern province of the country, quoting a senior police official.

"Five members of the terrorist al Qaeda group were arrested in Kerman province in the past two weeks ... Two of them are not Iranian citizens," said Kerman police chief Hossein Chenarian, adding that their case was forwarded to the intelligence ministry. 

"They were planning to carry out sabotage acts in Iran ... They wanted to deliver a huge amount of explosive material and weapons into the country." He said investigators seized weapons, ammunition and documents. IRNA did not offer more precise information about the suspects' home country or countries.

And then, there's Pakistan. First the Osama debacle, and later, on Monday 5 September 2011, ISI announced that a senior al Qaeda leader was arrested from Quetta along with two other high-ranking operatives in Pakistan. Younis al Mauritani, who was involved in planning and carrying out international operations, was picked up in the suburbs of Quetta, the military said in a statement.

"In an intelligence driven operation by Inter Services Intelligence in coordination with Frontier Corps Balochistan, a senior Al Qaeda leader, Younis Al Mauritani, mainly responsible for planning and conduct of international operations, was nabbed along with two other senior Al Qaeda operatives, Abdul Ghaffar Al Shami (Bachar Chama ) and Messara Al Shami (Mujahid Amino) from suburbs of Quetta. Al Mauritani was tasked personally by Osama Bin Ladan to focus on hitting targets of economical importance in United States of America, Europe and Australia. He was planning to target United States economic interests including gas/oil pipelines, power generating dams and strike ships/oil tankers through explosive laden speed boats in International waters.

Through this critical arrest yet another fatal blow has been delivered to Al Qaeda. This operation was planned and conducted with technical assistance of United State Intelligence Agencies with whom Inter Services Intelligence has a strong, historic intelligence relationship. Both Pakistan and United States intelligence agencies continue to work closely together to enhance security of their respective nations.

The intimate cooperation between Pakistan and United States Intelligence agencies has resulted into prevention of number of high profile terrorist acts not only inside Pakistan/United States but elsewhere also in world."

Posted via email from lissping