Iran is believed to host the “uncontested” new leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, according to a United Nations report this week.
Saif al-Adel, a former Egyptian special forces officer and top member of the insurgent group with a US$10 million bounty on his head, is believed to be the new unofficial leader of al-Qaeda.
The group has not officially named a successor following the 2022 killing of then-leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
FILE PHOTO: Saif al-Adel can be seen in this undated handout image. FBI/Handout via Reuters/File Photos (Photo Reuters)
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The death dealt a major blow to al-Qaeda which had not lost a leader since Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in May 2011.
The United States backed the UN claims on Wednesday, and State Department press secretary Ned Price told reporters that Tehran’s offer of a safe haven to a designated terrorist is “just another example of the broad support of the ‘Iran to terrorism” and “is destabilizing activities in the Middle East and beyond”.
Al-Adel is also wanted in coordination with the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Iran’s Mission to the United Nations responded to the allegations in a tweet and said al-Qaeda was dismantled following bin Laden’s death more than a decade ago and said the group “no longer exists, but its Extremist ideology still persists.”
Usama bin Laden and al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahri sitting side by side (Hamid Mir/Ausaf Editor/Newspaper for Daily Dawn/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo)
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“It is worth noting that the newly appointed so-called al-Qaeda leader’s address is incorrect,” the Iranian commentary added. “This disinformation could potentially hinder efforts to fight terrorism.”
The degree of separation once believed when it comes to Iran – which predominantly adheres to Shia Islam – and Sunni-motivated terrorist groups like al-Qaeda or the Taliban is an old “trope,” an expert told Fox News Digital .
“This has been a long-standing trope in intelligence and diplomacy that Iran against Sunnis and Shiites cannot cooperate,” said Bill Roggio, senior member and editor of the Foundation for Defense of the Long War Journal. Democracy (FDD). Digital Fox News. “Several al-Qaeda leaders and operatives take refuge in Iran.”
Roggio said al-Adel’s ties to the Iranian regime and location inside Iran could make him a “much more dangerous” al-Qaeda leader than his predecessor, but noted that al-Adel’s leadership style -Adel was relatively unknown.
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) senior fellow Michael Rubin, who also spent time interlocked with the Taliban before 9/11, echoed Roggio’s sentiments and said the news that al-Adel is housed in Iran “Pulls the veil off Iran’s broad relationship with al-Qaeda.”
“The idea that Iran and al-Qaeda cannot bridge the sectarian divide is naïve,” he told Fox News Digital. “From an Iranian perspective, Iran is an Islamic power, not just a Shiite one,” she added.
Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front fighters carry their weapons on the back of a pick-up truck during the release of Lebanese soldiers and policemen in Arsal in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley December 1, 2015. (REUTERS)
The UN also said it suspects al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, Abu Ikhlas al-Masri, is based in Afghanistan, which is currently controlled by the Taliban.
The al-Qaeda commander was reportedly captured in 2010 but released from Bagram prison following the Taliban takeover in 2021, the Long War Journal reported this week.
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Price reminded reporters Wednesday that the Taliban pledged not to allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven for terrorist groups or those who would plot against the United States or its allies.
“We are prepared, willing and able to act ourselves if the Taliban are unable or unwilling to fulfill the commitments they have made,” he said. “I think you saw it perhaps most vividly late last year, when the United States eliminated then al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was offered safe haven in Kabul “.
At the time, the Taliban claimed they were unaware that al-Zawarhiri had been in Afghanistan.
Reuters contributed to this report.
