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I see that some "journalists" @HuffPost and some folks at certain D.C. think tanks are up in arms over recent comments by the admin connecting Iran to Al-Qaeda, claiming that Shi'ite Iran wouldn't work w Sunni terror groups & the admin is making stuff up. So,here's a brief thread
The first questions to these folks should be 1. Are you literate? 2. If yes, why haven't you read the plethora of evidence illustrating AQ-Iran links that goes back two decades? & 3. And why are you commenting on national security affairs given your remarkable ignorance?
The bipartisan 9/11 commission noted AQ-Iran ties https://www.meforum.org/670/irans-link-to-al-qaeda-the-9-11-commissions
A November 1998 indictment--this is back in the Clinton admin-- noted that Iran assisted Al-Qaeda https://www.weeklystandard.com/thomas-joscelyn/iran-helped-al-qaeda-with-the-1998-u-s-embassy-bombings-in-africa
U.S. Courts have held Iran responsible for assisting Al-Qaeda https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/12/dc_court_iran_showed.php
Iran continued to assist AQ years after 9/11, this from 2011 "The Obama administration said Thursday that Iran is helping al-Qaeda funnel cash and recruits into Pakistan for its international operations" https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-accuses-iran-of-aiding-al-qaeda/2011/07/28/gIQARUPxfI_story.html?utm_term=.49e2ffe01c82
Indeed, U.S. Treasury Dept under Obama designated numerous AQ members residing in Iran post 9/11 https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/hp1360.aspx
In 2012, Treasury designated Iran's MOIS for its role in supporting AQ https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1424.aspx
Associated Press reporters Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo noted in a May 12, 2010 article that the CIA had even developed a program, code-named RIGOR, to monitor al Qaeda members in Iran. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/8/al-qaedas-iran-connection/
Documents seized from the 2011 Bin Laden raid further illustrate the connection https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/01/iran-relationship-al-qaeda-revealed-newly-released-trove-bin/
Newsweek:"Iranian offers of secret funding, arms and training to al-Qaeda have been laid bare in a 19-page document declassified by the C.I.A. that shows how Tehran provided extensive support for the terror group in an effort to weaken the United States." https://www.newsweek.com/irans-secret-funding-al-qaeda-exchange-attacks-us-targets-exposed-bin-laden-699370
West Point's Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) has highlighted, in several reports, the nature of the relationship https://ctc.usma.edu/marriage-of-convenience-the-evolution-of-iran-and-al-qaidas-tactical-cooperation/
Those involved in plotting 9/11, and those who helped create Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the forerunner to ISIS, were given shelter and support from Iran, which even took AQ families on outings and provided gym trips, according to a recent book, cited here https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Irans-support-for-al-Qaida-508130
"By March 2002, the 'al-Qaida exodus to Iran was at its height.' Some operatives and their families were granted stays in Tehran, including, at first, the four-star Howeyzeh Hotel..."
"There, the men involved with planning and implementing the largest mass-murder in American history were provided with 'room service, a ladies-only gym, movies and a swimming pool for the children.'" https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Irans-support-for-al-Qaida-508130
Much more evidence has been accumulated by @thomasjoscelyn (who is cited in several of the pieces above) @LongWarJournal & others. Suffice to say: it's extensive and undeniable; AQ fighters, U.S. courts, the last four admins, Bin Laden docs that were seized, 9/11 report, etc
So, in conclusion, if you haughtily suggest that the current admin is making this up or that Iran wouldn't support Sunni terror groups (like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and others for exp...) you probably DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT & YOU SHOULDN'T BE LISTENED TO.
