Pompeo dubs Iran new 'home base' of al-Qaeda
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Tehran of enabling the terrorist group by providing safe havens and logistical support.
Iran has allowed al-Qaeda to set up its operational headquarters and fundraise from within Iranian territory, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Tuesday, a week before a new administration bent on reviving diplomacy with Tehran takes office.
“Al-Qaeda has a new home base. It is the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pompeo said during a speech at the National Press Club in Washington. “Al-Qaeda today is operating under the hard shell of the Iranian regime’s protection.”
America’s top diplomat said al-Qaeda has increased its presence in Iran since 2015, the year Iran, the Barack Obama administration and several world powers finalized a landmark nuclear agreement that curtailed Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
“A sea change was happening within the Iran-al-Qaeda axis,” Pompeo said, adding that deputies of the group’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are now living inside Iran.
