Relationship between Iran and Al-Qaeda Looms Large on 9/11 Anniversary

(New York, N.Y.) – The events of September 11, 2001, in which nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives, will be forever seared into our country’s collective memory.

Eighteen years later, Al-Qaeda continues to be dedicated to striking America. As United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) documents in its report Al Qaeda Alliance against the U.S., Iranian training, supplies, and protection, often funneled through Hezbollah, enabled al-Qaeda to develop from a small band of extremists in Sudan into a force capable of attacking America and American assets around the world. UANI’s report details the evolution of the relationship between Iran and al-Qaeda, from the early 1990’s, to 9/11, to the present day.

According to the New York Times, “two defectors from Iran’s intelligence service have testified that Iranian officials had ‘foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks,’” and one of the defectors also “claimed that Iran was involved in planning the attacks.”

After the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks, key members of al-Qaeda’s operational structure escaped from Afghanistan to Iran, including Saif al-Adel (security chief), Saad bin Laden (Osama’s son and senior operative), Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (CFO of al-Qaeda), and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Al-Zarqawi later became the chief of al-Qaeda in Iraq, a group that killed an untold number of Iraqis and Americans.

To read the UANI report, Al Qaeda Alliance against the U.S., please click here.