A "Hub" for Al Qaeda in Iran

Colin, a reader, passes along this piece in the Financial Times. Despite a few attempts to dismiss the obvious cooperation between al Qaeda and Iran - including al Qaeda using Iranian soil to stage attacks in Iraq - here is the key portion:

Evidence that Iranian territory is being used as a base by al-Qaeda to help in terrorist operations in Iraq and elsewhere is growing, say western officials.

It is not clear how much the al-Qaeda operation, described by one official as a money and communications hub, is being tolerated or encouraged by the Iranian government, they said.
The group’s operatives, who link the al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan with their disciples in Iraq, the Levant and North Africa, move with relative freedom in the country, they said.

The officials said the creation of some kind of al-Qaeda hub in Iran appears to be separate from the group of seven senior al-Qaeda figures, including Saad bin Laden, son of the group’s figurehead, that Iran is said to have detained since 2002.

A senior US official said the information had produced different assessments. “The most conservative, cautious intelligence assessment is that [the Iranian authorities] are turning a blind eye. But there are a lot of doubts about that,” he said.

“They are benefiting from the mayhem that AQ is carrying out. They don’t have to deal with al-Qaeda to benefit.” ...


Indeed, Iran is benefiting greatly from al Qaeda's terror. Note that the anonymous intelligence official quoted by the FT says that the "most conservative" of the assessments of this relationship that he is aware of say that Iran is simply turning a blind eye to al Qaeda's activities. Other assessments, undoubtedly, recognize the lengthy pattern of cooperation between the Shiite Iran and the Sunni al Qaeda when it serves their common interests, including attacking Americans.