Recently, news of Iran’s support for Al-Qaeda has once again become hotly debated. James Rubin, Head of the Global Interaction Center at the US Department of State, claimed during a recent trip to London that the Islamic Republic of Iran harbors and supports Al-Qaeda leaders: “Iran has maintained a new form of cooperation with Al-Qaeda. The Islamic Republic has not only provided refuge to Al-Qaeda leaders within its borders but has also utilized its elements outside Iran to support Al-Qaeda.” Earlier, Mike Pompeo, former US Secretary of State, alleged in January 2021 that the Islamic Republic had become a haven for Al-Qaeda; a claim to which Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s former Foreign Minister, responded, referring to the September 11 attacks: “None of the terrorists in this attack were from Iran; they were all from Mike Pompeo’s favorite countries in the Middle East.”
UN experts also informed the Security Council last February of the Islamic Republic’s hosting of Al-Qaeda leaders, especially Saif al-Adel, reportedly leading the group unofficially after the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri. Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US representative for Afghan peace affairs, also claimed in March last year that if Al-Qaeda’s center was in Afghanistan yesterday, it is now in Iran.
For now, the United Nations and some other countries and organizations consider Saif al-Adel’s presence in Iran as a possibility, but the United States has taken it for granted. If this claim is true, it can be argued that the Islamic Republic hosts other members of Al-Qaeda as well. The assassination of Muhammad al-Masri, Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, with his daughter in August 2020 on a Tehran street, confirms allegations of the Islamic Republic hosting leaders of this group. Muhammad al-Masri had lived in Tehran for many years and was hosted by the Revolutionary Guards. It is said that Israel, on behalf of the United States, assassinated him.
The question raised is this: How can the Islamic Republic, which boasts of fighting terrorism in the region, coexist with Al-Qaeda?
1- Iran supports Al-Qaeda because the group is hostile to the United States and Saudi Arabia in the Arabian Peninsula. Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of Al-Qaeda, initially had a favorable relationship with the Saudis, but after the Gulf War, relations between the two sides deteriorated significantly due to Riyadh hosting American troops. Osama’s opposition to the presence of American troops on Saudi soil led to the revocation of his citizenship, confiscation of his assets, and his exile to Sudan. However, he was later expelled from Sudan in 1996 due to pressure from Saudi Arabia and sought refuge in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Turki al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence, twice visited Mullah Mohammad Omar, the former leader of the Taliban, in Kandahar and demanded Osama’s extradition, a request that was rejected. These instances illustrate the strained relationship between Osama and the Saudis. Al-Qaeda’s approach towards the United States is also clear: enmity. While America may engage with terrorist groups based on its interests, it has no such dealings with Al-Qaeda, especially after the September 11 attacks.
Iran’s approach towards Washington and Riyadh is openly hostile and leaves no room for ambiguity. The seemingly unbreakable alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United States also warrants contemplation. Therefore, since Al-Qaeda is hostile to Riyadh and Washington, it can serve Iran’s interests, even if weakly.
2- Although the Islamic Republic cooperated with the United States on the issue of Afghanistan in 2001, after George W. Bush, the President of the United States, labeled Iran as part of the “Axis of Evil,” the relationship between the two countries took a new difficult path. The fall of the Taliban regime led some Al-Qaeda members to seek refuge in Iran. Iran either imprisoned them or kept them under house arrest. However, there have been prisoner exchanges between Al-Qaeda and Iran on two occasions.
After the George W. Bush administration invaded Iraq, it is alleged that Iran transferred Al-Qaeda fighters to Baghdad to fight against American soldiers. Al-Qaeda’s branch in Iraq emerged when Saddam Hussein’s regime collapsed due to the US military invasion. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi assumed leadership of Al-Qaeda in Iraq; he was killed by US forces in Baghdad in June 2006. Al-Qaeda, once it gained a foothold in Iraq, would have found it difficult to fight both its rivals simultaneously: American soldiers and the Shia government in Baghdad, without support from a country like Iran. Tehran, realizing that Al-Qaeda did not have a good relationship with a post-Saddam government in Iraq, supported the group to strike at American interests. This branch of Al-Qaeda later transformed into ISIS. In this case, the Islamic Republic’s claim to fight against ISIS also seems intriguing.
3- The Islamic Republic, accused of Shia sectarianism and fueling sectarian conflicts in the Middle East, especially in countries like Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, attempts to refute the incorrectness of this accusation by establishing relationships with Sunni Islamist forces: the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and others. Tehran benefits in two ways from this approach: first, it seeks to demonstrate that it is not a captive of religious sects but rather aims to establish unity in the Islamic world; second, it deliberately selects groups from among Sunnis who are hostile to its two main enemies: America and Israel. If it weren’t for the issue of war against American and Israeli interests, Iran might not have heavily invested in supporting Sunni extremist forces, even though it would still be accused of Shia sectarianism.
4- Many analysts believe that the Islamic Republic does not consider Al-Qaeda as its trusted ally because it is a Sunni jihadist group with no good relationship with the Shias. Therefore, to ensure that Iran also not targeted like America by Al-Qaeda, Iran hosts its leaders as a form of insurance against potential threats. Tehran’s hosting of Al-Qaeda leaders serves two purposes: it seeks to show flexibility and gain Al-Qaeda’s consent, while also using them as a shield against potential dangers. Hence, Al-Qaeda leaders in Iran have either been in prison or under house arrest. However, since 2015, some of them have been released, with the notable example being the assassination of Muhammad al-Masri and his daughter on a Tehran street.
If Iran’s claim of providing refuge to Al-Qaeda is true, it is not unlikely that this group has acted as a mediator in facilitating the Islamic Republic’s relationship with the Taliban, especially when the United States was considered a common enemy by all three factions, particularly when US forces were present in Afghanistan. Iran’s concern about the presence of American troops in Afghanistan peaked after 2014, as the Islamic Republic vehemently opposed the signing of the Kabul-Washington Security Agreement. According to insiders, Tehran has been supporting the Taliban more overtly since then. The US withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 further shifted Iran’s focus towards Afghanistan. According to Mike Pompeo’s claim, Al-Qaeda has also established a new operational base in Iran since 2015. The bond between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is strong and unlikely to break anytime soon. It seems that America’s apparent absence from the Afghan political arena has not harmed the alliance between Iran, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban.
