The new leader of Al-Qaeda, Seif Al-Adel, is based in Iran, according to the US State Department yesterday.
"Our assessment aligns with that of the UN – that al-Qaeda's new de facto leader Saif al-Adel is based in Iran," department spokesperson, Ned Price, said.
"Offering safe haven to al Qaeda is another example of Iran's wide-ranging support for terrorism, its destabilizing activities in the Middle East and beyond."
Al-Adel, a former Egyptian special forces officer, has a $10 million US bounty on his head and is widely believed to be the "uncontested" leader of the terrorist network, stated the UN report published on Tuesday.
Although Al-Qaeda has not formally announced a successor for Ayman Al-Zawahiri who was reportedly killed in a UK missile strike in Kabul last year, a UN report stated that many member states are of the opinion that Al-Adel is already operating as the new emir.
As one of the group's old guard, Al-Adel once served as chief bodyguard to Al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden. In 1998 he was indicted and charged over his role in the bomb attacks on US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
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According to the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme, Al-Adel relocated to Iran after the Africa bombings and lived under the protection of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In 2003 he is said to have been placed under house arrest along with other Al-Qaeda leaders and was released with four others in exchange for an Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped in Yemen.
Iran's mission to the UN has denied the claims and stated: "It is worth noting that the address for the so-called newly appointed Al-Qaeda leader is incorrect. This misinformation could potentially hinder efforts to combat terrorism."
The UN report noted that the Sunni Islamist group is sensitive to the issue of Al-Adel residing in Shia-majority Iran. "His location raises questions that have a bearing on Al-Qaeda's ambitions to assert leadership of a global movement in the face of challenges from ISIL," it said, referring to the rival Daesh organisation.
This isn't the first time a high-profile Al-Qaeda leader has been reported to be located in Iran, in 2020 Al-Qaeda's then-number two, Abu Muhammad Al-Masri, was assassinated by two Israeli agents in Tehran at the "behest of the US" on the anniversary of the two embassy bombings in Africa. In January 2021, outgoing US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said that Iran was the "new home base" of Al-Qaeda. Tehran dismissed the remarks as "warmongering lies".
MEANWHILE
Iran denies U.S. claims linking Tehran to Al Qaeda's leader - foreign minister
February 16, 2023 - 16:43
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran denied U.S. claims that Al Qaeda's leader Seif al-Adel is based in the country, foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian wrote on Twitter on Thursday, a day after Washington aligned itself with a U.N. statement locating Adel in Iran.
"I advise the officials of the White House to stop the failed game of Iran-phobia, making news about the leader of Al-Qaeda and linking him to Iran is laughable," Amirabdollahian wrote.
Seif al-Adel, a former Egyptian special forces officer who is a high-ranking member of al Qaeda with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, is now the "uncontested" leader of the militant group, according to a new U.N. report on the organisation.
The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday it aligned with U.N. assessments that Seif al-Adel is based in Iran.
Adel was indicted and charged in November 1998 by a U.S. federal grand jury for his role in the bomb attacks on the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 civilians and wounded more than 5,000 others.
Following the African bombings, the former Egyptian army lieutenant colonel moved to southeastern Iran, where he lived under the protection of the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, according to the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice programme.
He and other Al Qaeda leaders were placed under house arrest in April 2003 by Iran, which released him and four others in exchange for an Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped in Yemen.