Yahoo! News--Iran general helped 9/11 plotters
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DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian general collaborated with al Qaeda to arrange the transit through Iran of nine of the September 11 hijackers, the Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Monday.
\"A general in the apparatus (Revolutionary Guard) coordinated with the number two man in al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, to provide 'safe passage' to around nine of those who carried out the attacks,\" the London-based paper said.
It cited as its source an official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and said Zawahri, who requested the help, had links with the general going back to the early 1990s.
Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh challenged the newspaper to back up its story.
\"If they have concrete proof they should hand it over to the United Nations (news - web sites), and if they really trust their sources they should let us know too,\" he told a weekly news conference when asked about the report.
A U.S. commission is expected to say in a report this week on the September 11 attacks that some of the hijackers passed through Iran on their way to the United States, but the CIA (news - web sites)'s Acting Director has said there is no evidence of official Iranian complicity.
Iran acknowledged that some of the 19 attackers may have passed through illegally, but said it had since tightened border controls. It said any attempts to tie the country to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s group were part of U.S. election-year propaganda.
The disclosure has again raised the question in the United States of whether the Bush administration, facing a re-election contest in November, has focused too much on Iraq (news - web sites) in seeking state connections to the attacks.
And\"A general in the apparatus (Revolutionary Guard) coordinated with the number two man in al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, to provide 'safe passage' to around nine of those who carried out the attacks,\" the London-based paper said.
It cited as its source an official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and said Zawahri, who requested the help, had links with the general going back to the early 1990s.
Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh challenged the newspaper to back up its story.
\"If they have concrete proof they should hand it over to the United Nations (news - web sites), and if they really trust their sources they should let us know too,\" he told a weekly news conference when asked about the report.
A U.S. commission is expected to say in a report this week on the September 11 attacks that some of the hijackers passed through Iran on their way to the United States, but the CIA (news - web sites)'s Acting Director has said there is no evidence of official Iranian complicity.
Iran acknowledged that some of the 19 attackers may have passed through illegally, but said it had since tightened border controls. It said any attempts to tie the country to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s group were part of U.S. election-year propaganda.
The disclosure has again raised the question in the United States of whether the Bush administration, facing a re-election contest in November, has focused too much on Iraq (news - web sites) in seeking state connections to the attacks.
Yahoo! News: Bush: US looking into whether Iran in 9/11
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Iran acknowledged some of the Sept. 11 attackers may have passed through illegally, but said it had since tightened border controls. It said any attempts to tie the country to al Qaeda, the militant network which carried out the attacks, were part of U.S. election-year \"news propaganda.\"
Bush and members of his administration have focused more attention on disputed Iraqi ties to al Qaeda, and cited those ties in making their case for invading Iraq in 2003.
The Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month harshly criticized the U.S. intelligence community for overstating the Iraqi threat of weapons of mass destruction before the war.
And a Sept. 11 commission staff report, which is expected to be endorsed in the final report, said there was no evidence that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) had a \"collaborative relationship\" with al Qaeda.
Bush and members of his administration have focused more attention on disputed Iraqi ties to al Qaeda, and cited those ties in making their case for invading Iraq in 2003.
The Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month harshly criticized the U.S. intelligence community for overstating the Iraqi threat of weapons of mass destruction before the war.
And a Sept. 11 commission staff report, which is expected to be endorsed in the final report, said there was no evidence that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) had a \"collaborative relationship\" with al Qaeda.
[ July 19, 2004, 01:34 PM: Message edited by: fantomas ]
