The Sunni Saudi Arabia-owned Al Arabiya television channel is expected to air a documentary accusing Shiite Iran of lending support to al-Qaeda jihadists involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States homeland.
Al Arabiya reports:
The documentary, which was produced in the United States, carries never before seen interviews revealing the Iranian regime’s relationship with the al-Qaeda terrorist group and the training it provided to its members to conduct major operations like September 11.
In one interview with Abolghasem Mesbahi, a former senior European-based operative in Iran’s security service, Vevak, Iran’s support to al-Qaeda was revealed and detailed.
Although the United States has affiliated Iran with al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban, the two Sunni groups accused of carrying out 9/11, most of the blame for the attacks that left an estimated 3,000 Americans dead and nearly 6,000 others wounded has fallen on Saudi Arabia.
The vast majority (15) of the 19 al-Qaeda plane hijackers who carried out 9/11 with the assistance of the Afghan Taliban called Saudi Arabia home.
Nevertheless, while United States government has officially deemed Iran a state-sponsor of terrorism, it considers Saudi Arabia to be an ally despite allegations that it sponsors Sunni jihadist groups across the world.
Last year, the Republican-led Congress, overriding a veto by former President Barack Obama, approved a law that allows the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. court for any role it may have played in the 2001 attacks.
The U.S. move angered Saudi Arabia, which has denied any involvement in the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil.
American officials have also accused Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran of providing sanctuary and support to al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban.
Specifically, the 9/11 Commission report acknowledges that Iran and its narco-terrorists Shiite proxy Hezbollah assisted al-Qaeda terrorists before they executed the deadly assault on the American homeland.
Furthermore, American Gen. John Nicholson, the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, accused Iran of backing the Afghan Taliban just last December.
Mutual disapproval of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan is the original reason behind cooperation between Iran and the Afghan Taliban, reported the New York Times (NYT) in August.
Iran shares a border with Afghanistan, where the Taliban is still harboring al-Qaeda more than 16 years after the September 11 attacks.
The 9/11 Commission report stressed that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which was overthrown by the U.S. military soon after it invaded the country in October 2001, provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda jihadists involved in orchestrating the 9/11 attacks, including the group’s late leader Osama bin Laden.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.