Ya Libnan

Iran accuses U.S. of ‘playing with fire’ in the Middle East

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Ali ShamkhaniThe secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council accused the United States on Saturday of violating the sovereignty of nations on the “pretext of fighting terrorism” in Iraq and Syria.

“On the pretext of fighting terrorism, the United States want to pursue their unilateral policies and violate the sovereignty of states,” Mr Ali Shamkhani ( pictured) said, quoted by the official Irna news agency. He said Washington was “trying to divert the eyes of the world from its pivotal role in supporting and equipping the terrorists in Syria in a bid to topple the legitimate regime”.

And Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani warned the United States that launching strikes against Iran’s ally Syria as part of its campaign against the jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) would be “playing with fire”. “The United States is playing with fire in the region and must know that it cannot attack Syria on the pretext of fighting against the Islamic State,” he said. “The United States must know that if it attacks countries in the region… no one will be able to control the region. The fuse will be lit.”

The United States is building an international coalition against ISIS and has said it plans air strikes against the jihadists on Syrian territory without the consent of Damascus. Syria and its ally Russia have warned that any unilateral US military action on Syrian territory would be a violation of its sovereignty.

straits times/AFP

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80 responses to “Iran accuses U.S. of ‘playing with fire’ in the Middle East”

  1. Shirdel2142 Avatar
    Shirdel2142

    So in short words don’t attack the syrian regime or else,just hit the terrorists.

    1. discip1e Avatar
      discip1e

      trial post

  2. Patience2 Avatar
    Patience2

    Well, if someone would just piss on Iran, they could put the fire out.

  3. wargame1 Avatar
    wargame1

    Iran cant hide its interest on keeping the ISIS in action against the Syrian and Iraqi sunni rebel. Iran have been playing this dirty game for decades. It will be over and it will back fire on them very badly

    1. guest Avatar
      guest

      They should thank their creations Isis for exposing them and their evil agendas!!!

    2. Shirdel2142 Avatar
      Shirdel2142

      So your saying iran is in control of ISIL?

      1. wargame1 Avatar
        wargame1

        Is it something new to you?

        1. Shirdel2142 Avatar
          Shirdel2142

          Hahaha your comedy is gold man,as always.

          1. Countessa Al Abyad Avatar
            Countessa Al Abyad

            This place is Lalaland, please tell me how can Shia
            Iran create Sunni ISIS Arabian Caliphates, the Shia
            are considered Apostates, i an make great efforts
            to understand this intellectual logic, this “knowledge”.
            It’s like they agree with each others opinions in close circuit reality.

            Before the Arab Spring, Sunni extremists in Syria
            were calling to kill all the Christians, at the start of
            the “peaceful protests”, thousands first to be massacred were Christians in Homs province..did it
            have anything to do with politics or Democracy ?

      2. The real lebanese Avatar
        The real lebanese

        They’re not in control, but its no secret they didnt want to fight them three months ago. Who do you think funded al Qaeda during the US occupation of Iraq? Syria and Iran were safe zones for the militants.

        1. Shirdel2142 Avatar
          Shirdel2142

          Well i cant dispute that claim but iran in control of ISIL is funny,at least what you said makes more sense.

          1. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Iran – Al Qaeda links are not new. Ties between the two were initiated in the early 1990’s when Hasan Al-Turabi, the leader of Sudan’s National Islamic Front, began to encourage Sunni-Shia reconciliation in order to defeat the common enemy, namely America and its allies. According to the U.S. court record for the 1998 U.S embassy bombings, Osama was living in Khartoum when the Sudanese religious scholar Ahmed Abdel Rahman Hamadabi brought Sheikh Nomani, representing the Iranian Shias, to meet the Al Qaeda leadership. Sheikh Nomani “had access to the highest echelons of power in Tehran.”

            As a result of this meeting, “Iran and Al Qaeda reached an informal agreement to cooperate, with Iran providing critical explosives, intelligence, and security training to bin Laden’s organization.” This meeting was the first in a series of meetings between Iran and Al Qaeda.

          2. Shirdel2142 Avatar
            Shirdel2142

            First of i never said that iran hasn’t cooperated with Al Qaeda,i was saying there is no proof that ISIL was made by iran or is being controlled by iran or the iranian government,and second it would have been much easier to just post the link brother but as always good job,now share the link please so all can bask in the knowledge of your findings 😀

          3. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            Wargame … You are much better at this than trying to bring back texts (to explain theories) from the deep mysterious past, for the perusal of the audience. 🙂 And I always admired your sleuthing …

          4. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            The 9/11 Commission Report has a section devoted exclusively towards investigating Iranian ties to Al Qaeda entitled, “Assistance from Hezbollah and Iran to Al Qaeda.” The report states that shortly after these meetings in Sudan in late 1991 or 1992, “senior Al Qaeda operatives and trainers traveled to Iran to receive training in explosives. In the fall of 1993, another such delegation went to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon for further training in explosives as well as in intelligence and security. Bin Laden reportedly showed particular interest in learning how to use truck bombs such as the one that had killed 241 U.S. Marines in Lebanon in 1983. The relationship between Al Qaeda and Iran demonstrated that Sunni-Shia divisions did not necessarily pose an insurmountable barrier to cooperation in terrorist operations.”

          5. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Iran and Hezbollah function in a patron-client relationship. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) supported Hezbollah operationally and financially amidst the turmoil of the Lebanese Civil War in the early 1980’s, enabling it to develop into a deadly and proficient organization. Creating and maintaining Hezbollah was not only useful to export the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary ideology; it also provided Iran a convenient terrorist proxy through which Iran could operate with impunity.

            As such, Iran was able to limit the risks of cooperating with Al Qaeda directly by engaging Al Qaeda through Hezbollah. After the Khartoum meeting with Sheihk Nomani, “Iran consulted Hezbollah and Al Qaeda was invited to send a contingent to Lebanon.” Not only did Al Qaeda come out of Lebanon with “training and propaganda videos,” it also received “a large amount of explosives from Iran that were used in the bombing of the East African targets.”

          6. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            It was Imad Mugniyeh (Hezbollah’s assassinated military chief) “who inspired Osama to develop coordinated, simultaneous attacks as a regular modus operandi, and this has been the hallmark of most subsequent Al Qaeda operations.” And even more, “Both Hezbollah trainers and experts from Iran’s Ministry of Information and Security trained Al Qaeda fighters in Sudan (in existing Al Qaeda facilities), Lebanon (in Hezbollah camps) and Iran (in officially run bases).”Hezbollah, founded in 1982 at the behest of the IRGC, has acted as a key intermediary between Iran and Al Qaeda

          7. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            After Al-Qaeda’s banishment from Sudan in response to its unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and its subsequent relocation to Afghanistan in 1996, Iran continued to provide Al-Qaeda with assistance. Iran facilitated travel for Al-Qaeda fighters through Iran to Afghanistan and “Iranian border guards were instructed not to stamp their passports, presumably to prevent their home governments from suspecting that they had traveled to Afghanistan.” As evidence of this burgeoning relationship, it is reported that between 1996 and 1998, nearly 10 percent of Osama Bin Laden’s outgoing calls were to Iran.

          8. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            On August 7, 1998, Al Qaeda carried out two simultaneous suicide truck bombings outside the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 223 people and injuring thousands more. In November 2011, a U.S. district court judge found that Iran was also culpable for the bombings for contributing “material support” to Al Qaeda essential for the execution of the attacks. According to the judge’s decision, “the government of Iran aided, abetted and conspired with Hezbollah, Osama bin Laden, and al Qaeda to launch large-scale bombing attacks against the United States by utilizing the sophisticated delivery mechanism of powerful suicide truck bombs… Prior to their meetings with Iranian officials and agents, Bin Laden and al Qaeda did not possess the technical expertise required to carry out the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. The Iranian defendants, through Hezbollah, provided explosives training to Bin Laden and al Qaeda and rendered direct assistance to al Qaeda operatives.”

          9. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Iran was eager to further cooperate with Al Qaeda, although Osama bin Laden was somewhat reluctant. The 9/11 Commission Report states, “Intelligence indicates the persistence of contacts between Iranian security officials and senior Al-Qaeda figures after Bin Laden’s return to Afghanistan… Iran made a concerted effort to strengthen relations with Al Qaeda after the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole, but was rebuffed because Bin Laden did not want to alienate his supporters in Saudi Arabia.”

            U.S authorities were well aware of this relationship at the time. The 9/11 Commission Report states, “On November 4, 1998, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed its indictment of bin Laden, charging him with conspiracy to attack U.S. defense installations. The indictment also charged that Al-Qaeda had allied itself with Sudan, Iran, and Hezbollah. “Following the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, Iran attempted to strengthen its relations with Al Qaeda.

          10. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            A Dark Day: Iran’s Role in the September 11 Attacks

            On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, intentionally crashing two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania. Nearly 3000 victims were murdered. Authorities quickly traced the attacks to Al Qaeda.The 9/11 Commission Report states that “there is strong evidence that Iran facilitated the transit of Al Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan before 9/11.

            The 9/11 Commission’s chapter, “Assistance from Hezbollah and Iran to Al Qaeda,” documents Iran’s facilitation of transit for Al Qaeda members through its territory from 2000-2001. After listing various examples, the report states, “In sum, there is strong evidence that Iran facilitated the transit of Al Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan before 9/11, and that some of these were future 9/11 hijackers. There is also circumstantial evidence that senior Hezbollah operatives were closely tracking the travel of some of these future muscle hijackers into Iran in November 2000.”

          11. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            investigation has indeed revealed evidence suggesting Iran was aware of the planning for 9/11. According toThe New York Times, “two defectors from Iran’s intelligence service have testified that Iranian officials had ‘foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks,’” and one of the defectors also “claimed that Iran was involved in planning the attacks.”

            Those defectors have been called as witnesses in a case brought by families of the victims of the September 11 attacks. “The court papers also include sworn statements from staff members of the 9/11 Commission, including Dietrich Snell, a former top terrorism prosecutor at the Justice Department, who states in his affidavit that ‘there is clear and convincing evidence the government of Iran provided material support to Al Qaeda in the planning and execution of the 9/11 attack.’ He said the support came in the form of ‘facilitating the travel of members of the 9/11 conspiracy to and from Afghanistan and Pakistan.’”

          12. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            In December 2011, Judge George Daniels (USA), presiding over the case, ruled that Iran was liable for the September 11 attacks because its support for Al Qaeda allowed the attacks to occur. He also noted that Iran “continues to provide material support and resources to al-Qaida by providing a safe haven for al-Qaida leadership and rank-and-file al-Qaida members.”
            Suspected Iranian collaboration with Al Qaeda in planning or executing the September 11 attacks is a serious charge. Iran’s complicity in this catastrophe must be properly investigated in light of Iran’s past and current relationship with Al Qaeda. The current court case brought by families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks is a step in the right direction.

          13. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            After the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks, it is common knowledge that many members of Al-Qaeda, including Osama bin Laden, fled to the lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Western Pakistan. What is less known is that key elements of Al-Qaeda also escaped to Iran, in some cases with assistance from Iranian authorities.

          14. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            in 2003, The Washington Post reported on a “decade-old relationship” between Ayman al-Zawahiri, then Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, and Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s current Minister of Defense. In 2001, Vahidi, then commander of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, reportedly provided “safe harbor for some Al Qaeda leaders who were trapped in the mountains of Tora Bora” following negotiations with al-Zawahiri. According to a European intelligence analyst, “The [Quds] Force’s senior leaders have longstanding ties to Al Qaeda, and since the fall of Afghanistan, have provided some Al Qaeda leaders with travel documents and safe haven.”

            Under such arrangements, key members of Al Qaeda’s operational structure came to reside in Iran, including such infamous figures as Saif al-Adel (Security Chief), Saad bin Laden (Osama’s son, Senior Operative), Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (CFO of AQ) and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (future Chief of AQ in Iraq).

          15. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Iranian deception on Al-Qaeda cooperation.Iran held these Al Qaeda operatives who fled from Afghanistan under “house arrest,” but in reality, Al Qaeda was using Iran as a base of operations under the protection of the Quds Force. By providing Al Qaeda operatives such sanctuary, Iran has been in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1390, which prohibits the harboring of Al Qaeda members.

            Over the next decade, as a means to further its own regional goals, the Iranian regime would permit Al Qaeda use of its territory to plan terrorist attacks abroad as well as transit money, arms and fighters across the region.

          16. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Continuity: Iran’s Covert Support for Al Qaeda Since 9/11
            After the international community made the dissolution of Al Qaeda a top priority, Iran downplayed its ties to the organization and at times portrayed itself as Al Qaeda’s enemy. However, according to Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson, analysts at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “thisseemingly tough stance served as cover for Tehran’s ongoing dealings with the organization; the regime’s support for Al Qaeda continued throughout this period.”

            In 2010, General David Petraeus, as Commander of U.S. Central Command, reported that Al Qaeda “continues to use Iran as a key facilitation hub, where facilitators connect Al Qaeda’s senior leadership to regional affiliates.”

          17. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Iran’s Harboring of Al Qaeda.Since 2001, Iran has harbored key Al Qaeda operatives.
            In its 2010 “Country Reports on Terrorism,” the U.S. State Department wrote that “Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior Al Qaida members it has detained, and has refused to publicly identify those senior members in its custody. Iran has repeatedly resisted numerous calls to transfer custody of its AQ detainees to their countries of origin or third countries for interrogation or trial. Iran also continued to fail to control the activities of some AQ members who fled to Iran following the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.”

          18. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            In January 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department froze the assets of four key Al Qaeda operatives based in Iran, including Osama’s eldest son Sa’ad bin Laden. Regarding the action, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey stated, “It is important that Iran give a public accounting of how it is meeting its international obligations to constrain al Qaeda.”

            In fact, as reported as far back as 2003, since Sa’ad’s “arrival in Iran… he has assumed a more active role in directing al Qaeda, and he has been identified as a senior leader.” It is believed that Iran allowed Sa’ad to relocate to Pakistan in late 2008.

          19. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            In March 2010, Al Qaeda assisted Iran in negotiating the return of an Iranian diplomat who had been held captive by the Taliban in Pakistan for 15 months. This incident pointed to another dangerous sign of increased Iran-Al Qaeda collaboration. In return for its help, Iran provided Al Qaeda operatives based in its territory greater freedom of movement and loosened restrictions. As one example, Al Qaeda’s chief military strategist that lives in Iran, Saif al-Adel, was allowed to travel to Pakistan and open more contacts with other Al Qaeda leaders. Remaining in Iran while possessing the freedom to travel “suggests that al-Adel and perhaps lower level Al-Qaeda figures now consider Iran a viable outpost, with fewer restrictions…” Furthermore, the “apparent easing of Iran’s restrictions on Al Qaeda… now opens up speculation that al-Adel could establish a ‘satellite office’ for the group in Iran.”

          20. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al-Qaeda Terrorist Operations From its Iranian safe haven, Al Qaeda members have planned terrorist operations that have killed dozens of people, including Americans. For example, on May 12, 2003, Al Qaeda commandos attacked residential compoundshousing foreign workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 35 people, including 8 Americans. The attacks were reportedly planned and ordered by Al Qaeda operatives in Iran, specifically Saif al-Adel and Sa’ad bin Laden (THE SON OF OSAMAM BIN LADEN). Through the UN, the U.S. conveyed its “deep concern that individuals associated with Al Qaeda have planned and directed the attack in Saudi Arabia from inside Iran.”

          21. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            According to the US intelligence sources, Sa’ad Bin Laden was also involved in planning the April 11, 2002 suicide bombing of a Tunisian synagogue on April 11, 2002 that left 21 dead. (Saad Bin Laden was in Iran coordinating the attack!!!) An intercepted letter reportedly sent to the IRGC in 2008 by Ayman al Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s current leader, revealed an even deeper relationship between Iran and Al Qaeda than previously thought. The correspondence was sent after the September 19, 2008 attacks on the American embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, which killed 19 people. The Daily Telegraph states, “In the letter, Al-Qaeda’s leadership pays tribute to Iran’s generosity, stating that without its ‘monetary and infrastructure assistance’ it would have not been possible for the group to carry out the terror attacks. It also thanked Iran for having the ‘vision’ to help the terror organization establish new bases in Yemen after Al-Qaeda was forced to abandon much of its terrorist infrastructure in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.”

          22. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al Qaeda in Iraq the current ISIS and their Iranian connection
            Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Iran also provided safe haven to Al Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who went on to establish Al Qaeda in Iraq, an Al Qaeda offshoot that went on to kill untold numbers of Iraqis and Americans. Zarqawi initially operated under the protection of the IRGC and its elite Quds Brigade. According to intelligence officials, the time Zarqawi spent in Iran was crucial for rebuilding his network before relocating to Iraq. While the Iranian regime eventually succumbed to U.S. pressure, forcing Zarqawi to leave Iran and arresting many of his personnel, the damage had already been done: Zarqawi’s network was already rebuilt, even though the Iranian authorities could have prevented such an outcome at any time.

          23. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Iran’s support for Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and other Al Qaeda leaders belies the assumption made by individuals in the intelligence community that Iran’s arrest and deportation of Al Qaeda members underscored Iran’s cooperation in the U.S.’s War on Terror. In the words of terrorism analyst Thomas Joscelyn, “Iran’s behavior can be explained by way of analogy. Like a corrupt cop in league with the mob, the Iranians have been willing to clamp down and turn over small-time operatives, while allowing bigger players to operate with impunity.” Iran provided Zarqawi with such operational impunity.

          24. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            leaked documents from U.S. military intelligence “outline Iran’s alleged role in brokering arms deals between North Korea and Pakistan-based militants, particularly militant leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Al Qaeda.” In this deal, Hekmatyar reportedly departed from Iran to North Korea in 2005 “to close a deal with the North Korean government to obtain remote-controlled rockets to use against coalition aircraft in Afghanistan.” Further intelligence reports revealed a 2006 “Al Qaeda-Hekmatyar plot to equip suicide bombers and car bombs to attack Afghan government and international targets – using cars and equipment obtained in Iran.” And lastly, an April 2007 report detailed an operation in which “Al Qaeda, ‘helped by Iran,’ bought 72 air-to-air missiles from Algeria and hid them in Zahedan, Iran, in order to later smuggle them into Afghanistan.”

          25. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Recognition: U.S. Acknowledges Iran-Al Qaeda Alliance

            While the relationship between the Iran and Al Qaeda has long been pubic knowledge, until recently the U.S. government had hesitated to formally link the two entities. This changed on July 28, 2011, when “the U.S. for the first time formally accused Iran of forging an alliance with Al Qaeda in a pact that allows the terrorist group to use Iranian soil as a transit point for moving money, arms and fighters to its bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

            The Treasury Department has evidence of an extensive fund-raising operation that draws from donors in Persian Gulf countries such as Kuwait and Qatar and uses Iran-based Al Qaeda operatives. Six Al Qaeda members were sanctioned for overseeing this network, headed by Syrian national Ezedin Abdul Aziz Khalil. The U.S. is now offering up to a $10 million reward for information leading to Khalil.

          26. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            The Treasury designation is particularly notable because it accuses Iran of being “an important link in Al Qaeda’s financing and recruitment.” It also states that the relationship dates back to 2005.
            David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said, “By exposing Iran’s secret deal with Al Qaeda allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory, we are illuminating yet another aspect of Iran’s unmatched support for terrorism.”

          27. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            In 2012, the U.S. government further exposed ties between Al Qaeda and Iran. On February 16, 2012, the Treasury Department designated the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) for its support of Al Qaeda, as well as other terrorist organizations. According to Treasury, “MOIS has facilitated the movement of al Qa’ida operatives in Iran and provided them with documents, identification cards, and passports. MOIS also provided money and weapons to al Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI)… and negotiated prisoner releases of AQI operatives.”

            This was followed by an additional designation action on October 18, 2012 “of Adel Radi Saqr al-Wahabi al-Harbi (al-Harbi), a key member of an al-Qa’ida network operating in Iran and led by Iran-based al-Qa’ida facilitator Muhsin al-Fadhli (al-Fadhli).” According to Treasury, “Al-Fadhli took over the Iran-based facilitation network from Yasin al-Suri in late 2011” and al-Harbi serves as his deputy. In this role, al-Harbi “facilitates the travel of extremists to Afghanistan or Iraq via Iran on behalf of al-Qa’ida, and is believed to have sought funds to support al-Qa’ida attacks.” The network is also sending funds and fighters to support Al Qaeda-affiliated elements in Syria. Cohen stated, “Today’s action… further exposes al-Qa’ida’s critically important Iran-based funding and facilitation network” and “Iran’s ongoing complicity in this network’s operation.”

          28. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Iran’s Double Game: Support for al Qaeda in Syria
            Iran has played an integral role in sustaining the Syrian regime amidst the ongoing civil war, which began as a popular uprising in March 2011. At the same time though, Iran has tacitly supported the opposing sides of Syria’s civil war by allowing senior al Qaeda members operating from Iranian soil to facilitate the movement of Sunni fighters into Syria. On February 6, 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Jafar al-Uzbeki, a senior Uzbek member of al Qaeda, for moving fighters into Syria through Iran. Mr. Jafar “is part of an al Qaeda network operating from Iran… with the knowledge of Iranian authorities.” According to Treasury, the network “uses Iran as a transit point for moving funding and foreign fighters through Turkey to support al Qaeda-affiliated elements inside Syria, including the al-Nusrah Front.” Additionally, the network has moved fighters into Pakistan and Afghanistan from Iran.
            Iran clearly understand the difference between the sunni rebel in Iraq and the Khawarij Al-Qaeda

          29. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Following the September 11 attacks, Iran portrayed itself as an enemy of Al Qaeda, but in reality their relationship became even more deeply rooted. The Iranian regime, via the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, provided key members of Al Qaeda’s leadership safe haven in Iran to continue their terrorist operations and avoid arrest by international authorities. Some Al Qaeda operatives continue to reside in Iran.With formal U.S. recognition in July 2011 that Iran has forged an alliance with Al Qaeda, it is time that the U.S. government and its citizens recognize this Alliance Against America and demand that the Iranian regime stop providing sanctuary to one of America and the international community’s deadliest foes.

            Beginning in the early 1990’s, Iran and Al Qaeda initiated their Alliance Against America – a partnership that would only intensify over time. Prior to the September 11 attacks, Iran, primarily through its proxy Hezbollah, provided Al Qaeda critical training, explosives and logistical support. Such support culminated in Iran facilitating the transit of some of the 9/11 hijackers through its territory.

          30. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al Qaeda Leaders That Have Resided/Traveled in Iran
            Name: Ayman al-Zawahiri
            Position: Head of Al Qaeda
            Connection: Zawahiri, the current leader of Al Qaeda, has long maintained ties to Iran. Throughout the 1990’s, as the leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Zawahiri was a frequent guest in Iran of Ali Fallahian, Iran’s then-Minister of Intelligence, and Ahmad Vahidi, then-head of the IRGC’s Quds Force. In 2003, The Washington Post reported on this “decade-old relationship” between Zawahiri and Vahidi, who had since become Iran’s Minister of Defense. Zawahiri’s relationship with Vahidi was reportedly instrumental in achieving safe harbor for Al Qaeda operatives seeking sanctuary from the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

          31. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al Qaeda Leaders That Have Resided/Traveled in Iran
            Name: Saif al-Adel
            Position: Chief of Military Operations of Al Qaeda
            Connection: Saif al-Adel disappeared after 9/11 and later re-emerged in Iran with other leading Al Qaeda members under the protections of the Quds Force. From Iran, al-Adel masterminded terrorist attacks abroad. In 2010, al-Adel and other Al Qaeda operatives based in Iran were provided greater freedom of movement and loosened restrictions in return for the release of an Iranian diplomat from Taliban custody. While al-Adel used these new freedoms to travel to Pakistan, he has reportedly remained in Iran to oversee Al Qaeda operations.

          32. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al Qaeda Leaders That Have Resided/Traveled in Iran
            Name: Saad Bin Laden (Deceased) Son of Osama
            Position: Senior Al Qaeda Operative, Terrorist Operations Planner
            Connection: Under the auspices of the Quds Force, Osama’s son Saad reportedly fled to Iran to escape the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. In Iran, he assumed a more senior and active role in Al Qaeda, including planning terrorist operations abroad. As of 2008, the U.S. government believed Saad may have relocated to Pakistan with the agreement of Iran.

          33. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al Qaeda Leaders That Have Resided/Traveled in Iran
            Name: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Deceased)
            Position: Head of Al Qaeda in Iraq
            Connection: Before going to lead Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iran provided safe haven to Zarqawi following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Before being removed from the country, Zarqawi operated under the protection of the IRGC’s Quds Force. The time Zarqawi spent in Iran was crucial for rebuilding his network before relocating to Iraq.

          34. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al Qaeda Leaders That Have Resided/Traveled in Iran
            Name: Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah
            Position: Chief Financial Officer of Al Qaeda
            Connection: Abdullah, one of Al Qaeda’s top operational deputies, reportedly arrived in Iran shortly after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan under the protection of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force. He is believed to currently be in tribal areas of Afghanistan or Pakistan.

          35. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al Qaeda Leaders That Have Resided/Traveled in Iran
            Name: Suleiman Abu Ghaith
            Position: Official Al Qaeda Spokesman
            Connection: The notorious Kuwaiti preacher reportedly arrived in Iran in early 2002. In 2010, Iran reportedly allowed Abu Ghaith to return to Afghanistan in exchange for an Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped by the Taliban in Pakistan in 2008.

          36. wargame1 Avatar
            wargame1

            Al Qaeda Leaders That Have Resided/Traveled in Iran
            Name: Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil
            Position: Al Qaeda Facilitator and Financier in Iran
            Connection: Khalil has lived and operated in Iran since 2005 under agreement between al-Qaeda and the Iranian government. In his role as Al Qaeda’s representative in Iran, Khalil works with the organization’s senior leaders to transfer money and recruits via Iranian territory to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The U.S. is offering up to a $10 million reward for information leading to Khalil—the first time such money is being offered for an Al Qaeda financier

      3. wargame1 Avatar
        wargame1

        Iran has collaborated with Al Qaeda covertly and often by proxy due to the latter’s notorious reputation. This covert cooperation began in the early 1990’s in Sudan, continued after Al Qaeda relocated to Afghanistan, and even manifested itself on Iranian soil before, during, and after the September 11 attacks. Although such cooperation has been known by authorities, for the first time in July 2011 the U.S. formally accused Iran of forging an alliance with Al-Qaeda that includes harboring Al-Qaeda operatives on Iranian territory and helping Al-Qaeda transit money, weapons and fighters.

        This Alliance Against America between the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and the most infamous international terrorist group is a formidable and menacing threat to American interests. This report documents the development of the Iran – Al Qaeda alliance from the early 1990’s to the present day.

      4. nagy_michael2 Avatar
        nagy_michael2

        well they had half of Al Qaada leadership in their backyard. they had during 9/11 and i have a strong feeling they helped them attack the US with Saudi politicians..

    3. discip1e Avatar
      discip1e

      Jesus once said, “it is just that he who will not believe in the truth to his salvation should believe in a lie to his damnation.” There is nothing worse than self-deception, or did the hatred for some group blind you!

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar
        5thDrawer

        (gotta look that quote up …. )

      2. wargame1 Avatar
        wargame1

        Jesus (peace be upon him) is a Muslim. He fasted 40 days like the Muslims , He prayed like the Muslims and He never died nor was he crucified. He will descend among the Muslim in the Grand Mosque of Damascus. Here is the video of that Mosque

        Youtube video link bellow

        /watch?v=RxD2900pDQc

      3. wargame1 Avatar
        wargame1

        “Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;

        Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

        He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

        And there is none like unto Him.”
        Quran:112
        Say “La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah”
        It means “There is absolutely no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and Mohamed (Peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah.

      4. wargame1 Avatar
        wargame1

        ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani recently made a startling admission: Al Qaeda has ordered its fighters and branches to refrain from attacking the Iranian state in order to preserve the terror group’s network in the country. This is what Adnani had to say [the translation of Adnani’s statement]:

        “The ISIS has kept abiding by the advices and directives of the sheikhs (Referring to Aiman Al-Zawaheri) and figures of jihad. This is why the ISIS has not attacked the Rawafid [rejectionists, a term used to describe Shia Muslims] in Iran since its establishment. It has left the Rawafid safe in Iran, held back the outrage of its soldiers, despite its ability, then, to turn Iran into bloodbaths. It has kept its anger all these years and endured accusations of collaboration with its worst enemy, Iran, for refraining from targeting it, leaving the Rawafid there to live in safety, acting upon the orders of al Qaeda to safeguard its interests and supply lines in Iran.”

        “Yes, it [the ISIS] has held back the outrage of its soldiers and its own anger for years to maintain the unity of the mujahideen in opinion and action.”

        “Let history record that Iran owes al Qaeda invaluably.”

        Toward the end of the lengthy statement, Adnani reiterates that the ISIS “complied” and didn’t attack Iran:

        “We [the ISIS] complied with your request not to target them outside Iraq, in Iran and elsewhere.”

        Adnani didn’t explicitly state that al Qaeda had a deal with Iran “to safeguard its interests and supply lines,” the US government has said it has evidence of such an agreement. The US Treasury Department noted in the July 2011 designation of six al Qaeda operatives who were based in Iran that the Iranian government had a “secret deal with al Qaeda allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory.”
        NOW AL-QAEDA IS EXPOSED AS A IRANIAN PROXY SO IT IS NECESSARY TO WHITEWASH THE UGLY TRUTH WITH THE NEW IRANIAN PROXY i.e. ISIS who will bark against their own Al-Qaeda and their own Master Iran.

  4. leon Avatar
    leon

    Iran needs to change its image in the world stage. Stop playing games and start standing up for integrity.

    1. discip1e Avatar
      discip1e

      Or maybe you ought to open your eyes and judge justly. Alas, like Jesus once said: ” And verily I say unto you, that whosoever has the light of his eyes clear
      sees everything clear, and draws light even out of darkness itself; but
      the blind does not so.

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar
        5thDrawer

        Could you reference your quotes ??

      2. kamille1 Avatar
        kamille1

        Bro, I think u picked up a copy of the bible translated into English by IS..lol

  5. nagy_michael2 Avatar
    nagy_michael2

    Iran do not like someone else intruding on their turf. so let me this Iranian jackass what are Quds Brigade doing in Lebanon since the 1980’s??? why so many so called advisors and guards and weapons?? so you can use hezbollah against Israel and strut your terrorist muscles against anyone you do not like or want to get even with?

    1. guest Avatar
      guest

      Brother Nagy, show some respect and please don’t accuse them of any wrongdoings or evils as they are the Infallibles!!!

      1. nagy_michael2 Avatar
        nagy_michael2

        my bad.. sorry my friend..at least they’re not car bombing lebanese for a change..

        1. guest Avatar
          guest

          My friend, they would love to and want to show poor helpless Sunnis as extremists like the fake twitter fiasco, etc. and keep beautiful Lebanon boiling but how can they when they, their master and their masters and all their evil acts are getting exposed left and right!?
          They are having hard time in making all people believe in their phony resistance, false flags, reasoning of alliance with iran, Zionists, asshead, hamas, isis and others, unnecessary sectarian wars, lies, deceptions, evil games, agendas, etc. as anything they do, touch, or even that repetitive showcasing of a particular sect of wrongdoings and evils orchestrated by paid actors, Khawarijis, etc. is backfiring no matter what or how hard they try to show and portray themselves as good people fighting their own created evils!
          Unfortunately the reason is, they don’t believe in the real God of the great Messengers (pbut) but some mythological ones (Satan’s) and that false belief of theirs is blinding them from the fact that they can never out smart the real God how ever smart they think they are!
          They can fool some naive people but not all, which they have been since ages and yet got/get humiliated and exposed!
          They think their so called Satanic god or gods will protect them but unfortunately Satan can never win against the real God!
          They can create as many proxies like hezbusatan, Isis, etc. to bring destructions, wars, falsehoods, confusions, malign the real God, it’s great Messengers, Religions, Holy Books, good Followers, etc. or twist truth, justify, relate, give excuses/examples, make up stories full of lies, deceive, use false propaganda, ask for proofs when its blind obvious, etc. yet they along with their masters/creators can never win against the real God!!!
          Let’s hope such evils are soon removed not only from beautiful Lebanon but from the whole World so people irrespective of their religion, race, color, creed, language, etc. can live in peace!!!

  6. Reasonableman Avatar
    Reasonableman

    Poor iran didn’t get invited to the party
    🙁

    If america was to start taking action (which I doubt very much would be approved) it should deal with the source and creator of ISIS which is iran and let the arab states deal with ISIS.

    It should be an open joint operation with america taking down ASSad who committed the worst atrocities since world war 2 and broke too many international laws (take him out politically or be it through war) and the majority sunni arab states should fight against ISIS in iraq.

    1. guest Avatar
      guest

      Dajjal state are losing it as its obvious their taqiyah is not working, why their masters the Zionists are not coming to their help in such hour of need!?
      Their creations, Isis is exposing and hurting them more instead of doing their job of furthering the evil interests and agendas of their Infallible masters!!!
      The Isis will only flourish until the evil goals of the Infallibles and their masters, the Zionists are accomplished, such talks and actions are just hot air as they are not going anywhere!!!

  7. Fauzia45 Avatar
    Fauzia45

    Oh and you are playing with water !!!!!I suppose the wells are drying up it seems!!!!

  8. Hesperian Avatar
    Hesperian

    Mr. Ali
    You can’t even protect the Shiites in Iraq that are being slaughtered by Isis
    You are in no position to threaten any country…

  9. guest Avatar
    guest

    Iran’s Motivation and Collusion: How Can or Why Would Shia Iran Create a so called (Sunni) Khawarij Extremist Group? What Would Iran’s Motivation be to Support a so called (Sunni) Khawarij Organization Like ISIS? ISIL/ISIS/IS – Made by ASSad, Iran, and It’s Master’s? Being Controlled By Iran? Iran Sponsored The Creation of ISIS/ISIL, Sheltered It’s Founder?

    Beside the utmost Hatred for Sunnis, ambition of creating Shiite Crescent, Controlling ME including the Holy Sites, and it’s resources, here are some other geopolitical reasons.

    ISIS was established on April 8, 2013, when its subsidiary organization, Jabhat Al Nusra, merged with the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which itself was a successor to Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

    Bashar Al ASSad regime is the only bulwark against the new Islamic bugaboo. ISIS clashed with its former Al-Qaeda branch, already active in Syria, Jabhat Al-Nusra or Al-Nusra Front headed by Abu Mohammad Al Golani.

    Iran was instrumental in the creation of ISIS. It sheltered its founder, and provided significant material support to establishing its infrastructure. For Iran, ISIS has served as a highly effective proxy, rapidly destabilizing, and now effectively destroying any remaining remnants of Iran’s long time foe that, for too long, impeded its ambitions in the region: Iraq. Clearly, it is Iran that has most benefited from the war on Iraq a country it could not defeat, much less occupy, had it not been for the efforts of the United States.

    Iran’s ties to ISIL are closer, more complicated. Iran long provided shelter and protection to the founder and former commander of al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the predecessor to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), which rose to power due in large part to Tehran’s support, according to multiple intelligence reports and outside experts.

    AQI leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was given protection by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGS) and was provided with resources to rebuild the infrastructure that has enabled ISIL to take over much of Western Iraq, according to these reports.

    However, Iran has a long and complicated history of partnering with al Qaeda, particularly in Iraq, and helping to rebuild the terror infrastructure that would eventually allow ISIL to gain strength.

    Iran’s support for al Qaeda in Iraq began in the months following the 9/11 terror attacks.

    When the United States began Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, al Qaeda leaders including Osama bin laden took shelter in lawless areas of Pakistan. However, many other senior leaders, including al-Zarqawi, made their way to Iran, which provided the terrorists protection.

    “Zarqawi initially operated under the protection of the IRGC and its elite Quds Brigade,” according to a report published by UANI. “According to intelligence officials, the time Zarqawi spent in Iran was crucial for rebuilding his network before relocating to Iraq.”

    Senior al Qaeda officials have spoken of relocating members of the terror group, including al Zarqawi, and their families to Iran following the 9/11 attacks, according to information provided by terrorism analyst Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

    “There is evidence that Zarqawi operated from within Iran for a time as well,” Joscelyn explained via email. “Both German and Italian authorities discovered evidence that Zarqawi communicated with his followers from Iranian soil.”

    During the time when U.S. forces were first entering Afghanistan, al-Zarqawi hid in Iran and was given free rein to travel the country, according to leaked German intelligence reports later included in a report by the Claremont Institute.

    “After the invasion of Afghanistan, al-Zarqawi spent crucial months inside Iran rebuilding his network under the protection of the IRGC, the Iranian regime’s most loyal servants,” according to the 2007 Claremont report. “Al-Zarqawi traveled under numerous aliases, but some of these were grafted onto real Iranian passports—a possible indication that the Iranians had procured the documents for him.”

    Other top al Qaeda leaders also took refuge in Iran, including top security officials and bin Laden’s son.

    Al-Zarqawi spent his time in Iran working to rebuild al Qaeda’s operation in Iraq and would later go on to head the organization there before changing the name to ISIL.

    With Iran’s IRGC providing logistical support, al-Zarqawi and al Qaeda officials rebuilt safe houses and their financial networks, enabling the group to reassemble the fractured terror network as the United States fought in Afghanistan.

    Iran eventually permitted al-Zarqawi to reenter Iraq, where he was integral in al Qaeda’s network there until he was killed by a U.S. strike in 2006.

    Iran’s support for AQI continued well after al-Zarqawi’s death.

    Current ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who succeeded al-Zarqawi, has benefited from Iran’s support for the organization, which includes fundraising.

    Iran was cited in June 2008 for facilitating the passage of grenade launchers and bomb-making material to Iraqi insurgents.

    That same year the Justice Department indicted several foreign nationals for directing weapons to Iran, arms that were traced back to deadly attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq.

    ISIL’s support for embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also dovetails with Iran’s interest in the civil war torn country.

    “Immediately after ISIS emerged in Syria, sources in the Syrian opposition said, ‘We are familiar with the commanders of ISIS. Once they belonged to Assad’s intelligence, and now they are operating on his behalf under the name of ISIS.’”

    Iran’s relationship with AQI founder al-Zarqawi has been well documented by U.S. intelligence and complicates the narrative pushed by Obama administration officials in the wake of ISIL’s violent overthrow of several Iraqi cities.

    The clash between ISIS and Al-Nusra sparked accusations that the former was nothing but a means for the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate, along with the Iranians, to plant agents of the Assad regime and of Iran within the Syrian opposition, thereby spreading confusion in its ranks and diverting it from the fight against Assad into internecine struggle, according to a report published by the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs in June 2014.

    During the invasion of Iraq, Syria would send Al-Qaeda operatives to Iraq to attack US forces. Syrian intelligence in full coordination with Iran recruited the Al Qaeda terrorists to infiltrate the ranks of the rebels who were fighting in Syria. Once free, they broke into Iraqi prisons to liberate their comrades, thereby creating the basis for expanding ISIS.

    In Syria, ISIS has forced the West to choose between the regime of Bashar al-ASSad or a terrorist outfit. Given that choice, it was assumed that the West would back ASSad, as did the Russians and the Chinese.

    Cynically Iran is exploiting the Western fear of terrorism to make common cause with the West against ISIS.

    But ample evidence exists to prove Iran’s collusion with Al Qaeda. The 9/11 Commission Report, had already established that Iran even “facilitated the transit of Al-Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan before 9/11, including future hijackers. Iran, according to the report, wished to conceal any past evidence of its cooperation with Sunni terrorists’ association with Al-Qaeda,” but these connections continued.

    ISIS suddenly emerged in Syria, at a time when the collapse of ASSad’s regime seemed imminent. The emergence of ISIS saved the Syrian regime by threatening the world with an alternative terrorist regime would replace ASSad’s.

    The same scenario happened in Iraq. Nouri al-Maliki, who is an Iranian puppet as most Iraqis believe, was about to lose his position as Prime Minister, especially that Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurds leaders unanimously refused to renew his term. Suddenly again, ISIS emerged. The ISIS connection with the Syrian leadership, and hence with Iran, raises serious questions. It was recently noted that President Assad released ISIS operatives from his prisons and for the most part left it alone, sparing it from attacks by the Syrian army. Two leading American analysts just wrote in the Washington Post, “The non-jihadist Syrian opposition insists that ISIS is a creation of Iran.”

    David Butter, a leading expert on Syria told Channel 4 News that the links between ISIS and Syrian intelligence date back to the aftermath of the Iraq war of 2003.

    “The leaders of ISIS have already worked hand in glove with Syrian intelligence, whether supplying them with weapons or supplying money flowing from their racketeering activities around Mosul. “Assad has a long history of supporting terrorist groups and activity in the region. There have been pictures of ISIS flags on buildings that have escaped shelling and reports of supposed collusion on oil and gas deals”.

    When ISIS was formed in April last year, Syrian activists claimed it served the interests of President Bashar Al-ASSad and his main ally, Tehran. A report in the Economist magazine 21st June 14 explained how ISIS was less interested in toppling the ASSad’s regime than fighting other groups. ISIS has been criticized for its attacks on civilians and rival opposition groups. It has never targeted Al ASSad’s regime and not a single barrel bombs has been dropped by the regime on ISIS.

    1. wargame1 Avatar
      wargame1

      Great research. I have enjoyed reading all your posts. Please take a screen name instead of Guest. So that we can identify your posts. Thank you

  10. guest Avatar
    guest

    More and more evidence of Iran’s links with Al Qaeda:

    While Muslim-majority countries from Afghanistan to Morocco have had their share of bloody Al-Qaeda violence over the past decade, Iran has remained largely unscathed. It is no secret that Al-Qaeda has had “long established relations with Iran”. Even the former Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who was killed in June 2006 in a special U.S. airstrike, was treated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of wounds he sustained during fights in Iraq.

    The Iranian regime’s relationship with Al-Qaeda is not new:

    In a 2011 decision, a Washington, D.C., district court ruled that Iran had provided Al-Qaeda with material aid and support to carry out the Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam bombings in 1998.

    After the fall of the Taliban, hundreds of Al-Qaeda elements fled Afghanistan and sought refuge in Iran.

    Iran sought to extend its influence to Islamist organisations that follow the takfiri ideology and which had pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, so it began the process of attracting, co-operating with and training these elements within its territory, and providing them with funds and equipment.

    Among them were Yassin al-Suri, who is accused of financing terrorism,Mohsen Al-Fadhli, Al-Qaeda‘s leader in Iran, and his Saudi deputy Adel Radi Saqr al-Harbi.

    A CNN report in March 2013 by Peter Bergen focused the spot-light on top Al Qaeda members who ended up living in Iran. Among them Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law.

    According to U.S. documents and officials, in addition to Abu Ghaith, other of bin Laden’s inner circle who ended up in Iran include the formidable military commander of Al Qaeda, Saif Al-Adel, a former Egyptian Special Forces officer who had fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan, as well as Saad bin Laden, one of the Al Qaeda’s leader older sons who has played some kind of leadership role in the group. Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence learned that someAl Qaeda operatives were living in the northern Iranian town of Chalus, on the Caspian Sea.

    From his Iranian refuge Saif al-Adel authorized Al-Qaeda‘s branch in Saudi Arabia to launch a series of terrorist attacks in the Saudi kingdom that began in the capital Riyadh in May 2003, a campaign that killed scores of Saudis and expatriates.

    The fact that leading members of Al Qaeda were based in Iran from 2002 onward was known to the U.S. government at the time.

    In a letter that Bin Laden wrote just five days before he died he described a document from his son Saad who had lived in Iran for years which exposes the truth of the Iranian regime. It is obvious that Bin Laden and his men were quite distrustful of the Iranian regime, wrote Peter Bergen.

    A letter to Bin Laden from his chief of staff dated 11 June 2009 has a detailed account about a group of “mid-level” Al Qaeda members who the Iranians had recently released, including three Egyptians, a Yemeni, an Iraqi and a Libyan. IN Feb 2014 The Lebanese Daily Star reported that the Obama administration charged that Tehran is assisting Al-Qaeda operatives based in Iran to transfer Sunni fighters to Syria.

    The accusation, detailed in new sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department targeting Iranian terror links, suggests Iranian officials are backing opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. The Treasury has information about Al Qaeda men in Iran who assisted extremists and operatives transiting Iran on their way into and out of Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

    The name of a Mr. Sadikov, came up, he is also known as Jafar al-Uzbeki and Jafar Muidinov, serves as a “key extremist smuggler based in Mashhad, Iran, near the country’s border with Afghanistan, and has provided visas and passports to numerous foreign fighters, including Al-Qaeda recruits, to facilitate their travel,” the Treasury said, adding that “he assisted According to the Treasury statement, Uzbeki has also provided funding to Abdel-Aziz Khalil, aka Yasin al-Suri, who resumed leadership of Al-Qaeda’s Iran-based network after being temporarily detained there in late 2011.

    The US Treasury Department released a statement on 16 February 2012 designating the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) as a supporter of international terrorist organizations.

  11. guest Avatar
    guest

    The Iranian ISIS/ISIL Connections:

    ISIS, has agreed not to attack al-Qaida interests in Iran, according to ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani. The decision by ISIS, known for the savagery of its attacks, is to insure preservation of al-Qaida’s supply network inside Iran, Adnani said.

    He pointed to a continuing relationship between Sunni al-Qaida and Shiite Iran.

    “The ISIS has kept abiding by the advices and directives of the sheiks and figures of jihad,” Adnani said in a translated statement obtained by the Long War Journal. “This is why the ISIS has not attacked the Rawafid in Iran since its establishment.”

    “Rawafid,” or rejectionists, is a term Sunni radicals use to describe Shiite Muslims.

    “It has left the Rawafid safe in Iran, held back the outrage of its soldiers, despite its ability, then, to turn Iran into bloodbaths,” Adnani said. “It has kept its anger all these years and endured accusations of collaboration with its worst enemy, Iran, for refraining from targeting it, leaving the Rawafid there to live in safety, acting upon the orders of al-Qaida to safeguard its interests and supply lines in Iran.”

    Adnani’s statement is a further confirmation of a relationship between al-Qaida and Iran that many analysts didn’t believe existed.

    “Yes, ISIS has held back the outrage of its soldiers and its own anger for years to maintain the unity of the mujahideen in opinion and action,” Adnani said. “Let history record that Iran owes al-Qaida invaluably.”

    The ISIS statement said that its policy of not attacking Shiite Muslims and Iranian interests extends “outside Iraq, in Iran and elsewhere.”

    In a July 2011 statement, the U.S. government indicated it had evidence of a relationship between al-Qaida and the Iranian government – a “secret deal with al-Qaida allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory.”

    At the time, the government had designated six al-Qaida operatives who were based in Iran.

    They included Mustafa Hamid, father-in-law of top al-Qaida operative Saif al-Adel; Saad bin Laden, a son of Osama bin Laden; Yasin al-Suri, said to have been the head of al-Qaida’s operations in Iran; and Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, head of al-Qaida in Iran.

    Iran for years has helped finance separate Sunni groups, some of which later comprised the umbrella group al-Qaida, Arabic for “the base.”

    Adnani’s admission of ISIS respecting al-Qaida networks in Iran comes as the more radical group and al-Qaida chief Zawahiri remain at odds over tactics and strategy in Syria and Iraq, although some analysts interpret Adnani’s statement as a reconciliation initiative.

    At the same time as he exposed the ISIS agreement not to attack al-Qaida interests in Iran, Adnani continued to blame Zawahiri for the infighting between them.

    “The Iranian regime’s continued interference in Syrian affairs is rooted in preserving its economic and political interests in the region “Iran’s current goal is to abort the Syrian revolution and portray the ruling Syrian regime as waging a war on terrorism”. The connection between the Iranian regime and Al-Qaeda and particularly ISIL is evident.

    “Since the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution, Iran has worked to establish external bases through some of the armed groups that follow its policy directly, such as Hezbollah’s branches in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria”.

    “The first organisation born of the womb of the Iranian intelligence [services] was the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), which later became ISIL/ISIS under the leadership of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi,”

    These contradictions raise questions about how far Iran is willing to go in using Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda-inspired groups to implement its policies.

    The Iranian regime’s support of groups such as ISIL aims to “project a dark image of the Syrian opposition as nothing but Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist takfiri groups,” said Sami Gheit, an economist and researcher with Al-Sharq Centre for Regional and Strategic Studies.

    Many of ISIL‘s practices, including field executions, assassinations and beheadings, aim to tarnish the image of the Syrian revolution, saidMohammed Abdullah, a Syrian journalist residing in Cairo who is documenting the Syrian war, with a focus on the Iranian file. FIGHTING the Free Syrian Army INSTEAD OF SYRIA’S REGIME, ISIS has never engaged the Syrian army or Hezbollah. “In al-Raqa, for example, ISIL spared strategic Syrian regular army positions, despite the fact it controls the bulk of the territory in the province.” The three positions are the airport and [the headquarters of] the 17th Division and 93rd Brigade.

  12. guest Avatar
    guest

    Iranian Documents Found in ISIL’S Possession:

    Other evidence of the Iranian regime’s involvement with ISIL includes the discovery of official documents and passports issued by the Iranian authorities at ISIL‘s headquarters in rural western Aleppo earlier this year, said Syrian journalist Mohammed Abdullah.

    These documents include Iranian passports and several other documents belonging to fighters from Chechnya and Kazakhstan, in addition to many Iranian SIM cards, he said.

    This points to a connection between ISIL leaders and Iranian intelligence, he said. The brain-washed rank and file of ISIS are ignorant of the political alliances between ISIS, Tehran and Damascus.

    Iran is Syrian President Bashar ASSad’s strongest ally, providing military, financial and diplomatic, and propaganda support. The U.S. has repeatedly accused Iran of using its Revolutionary Guards to train and deploy Shi’ite fighters to bolster ASSad’s forces.

    In June the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) humiliated the Iraqi army and focused world attention on Iraq again. What the world does not recognize is the role played by Syrian President Bashar Al-ASSad helping and strengthening ISIS.

    ISIS has long been at war with the moderate opposition groups like theIslamic Front and the Free Syrian Army (FSA), who have successfully driven it out of much of its former turf in the north. Alex Rowell writing on 17th June inNow Media Me “Blame ASSad for ISIS Rise”. He gives examples of the collaboration between ISIS and the Syrian regime.

  13. guest Avatar
    guest

    ISIS bases have never been targeted by the Syrian regime:

    A government adviser told the New York Times’ Anne Barnard this was indeed a deliberate policy, designed to “tar” the broader opposition and “frame [the] choice” as either ASSad or the extremists.

    As one ISIS defector told The Daily Telegraph, “We were confident that the regime would not bomb us. We always slept soundly in our bases.

    According to the same Daily Telegraph report, both ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra have raised millions of dollars through sales of crude oil from fields under their control to the regime.

    Nawaf al-Fares, the defected former Syrian ambassador to Iraq, has claimed the regime ordered a series of suicide bombings in Syria in 2012, carried out by the very jihadists he himself had sent to Iraq years previously.

    Yet more recently the siege of Deir ez-Zor has been maintained by the army of Bashar al-Assad in the south and by ISIS to the north and east. Among the forces that have been trapped in the middle are the Free Syrian Army (FSA), raising the question of whether ISIS was colluding with the Syrian government and its Iranian allies to defeat the more mainstream elements of the Syrian opposition. Also at the time of writing we read reports of collusion between ISIS and ASSad’s army in Aleppo.

    As the conflict in Syria and Iraq continues, more facts about the collaboration between Iran, Al Qaeda, ISIS and the Syrian regime will emerge.

  14. guest Avatar
    guest

    Iran’s Manipulation of ASSad:

    Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, made an unannounced visit to Damascus. He came with a clear message: Do not give in to the Arab Spring in Syria. Jalili met with President ASSad and his top advisors to propose what he called a new “Iron Curtain” with Iran and Russia against a Western conspiracy in the region. ASSad took the offer despite his father’s efforts to keep his dubious Iranian ally at arm’s length. Now the world watches as Iran increases its influence in both Syria and Lebanon, building toward an improved bargaining position with the West. By design, this process will soon render Bashar dispensable to all sides.

    The Iranian Ambassador Ahmad al-Mousawi told “Iranians are all blooming flowers planted by Mohamad Nassif.” Nassif was a close advisor to Hafez al-Assad, and until recently the deputy vice president for security. Ambassador Mousawi’s statement hints at the complexities of Iran and Syria’s relationship over the last forty-five years. The Syrian constitution requires the president to be a Muslim. As an Alawite in the 1970s, Hafez al-Assad needed to put to rest any question of his religious legitimacy. He saw an opportunity in Musa al-Sadr, an influential Iranian Shia scholar in Lebanon. Assad supported Sadr’s rise, and in return, Sadr declared that all Alawites were brothers in the Shia Muslim faith. Sadr later suggested that Assad meet an influential Iranian Shia named Khomeini, then exiled in Iraq. ASSad saw strategic benefit in supporting a future ally in the region, and supported Khomeini with intelligence, money, and assistance. Syria was the first Arab state to recognize the post-Shah government in Iran and backed it in conflicts throughout the 1980s, particularly that against Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

    Lebanon proved to be the upper limit of the alliance between Iran and Syria. Iranian aspirations for regional dominance meant helping to establish Hezbollah in Lebanon to build influence there. ASSad, however, created his own power players in Lebanon, culminating to a boiling point in 1986 for thefirst time in a Shia-on-Shia conflict. Hafez aligned his troops with the Amal Movement. Iranian Quds forces allied with Hezbollah. Hafez’s military victory in this conflict marked the Syrian-imposed limit of Iran’s expansionist policy in Lebanon. From then on, Hafez kept a distance from both Hezbollah and Iran, who were tireless their search for influence in the Levant. Hafez’s ailing health presented an opportunity to get closer to Syria’s power center through his son, Bashar.

    It was an open secret among officers in government that Bashar lacked confidence in his leadership abilities. Trained as an ophthalmologist in London and only groomed for leadership upon his brother’s death in 1994, many of them felt he was ill prepared to take the country’s helm. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah developed a relationship with Bashar a few years before his father’s death in 2000 and endeared himself to Bashar in a way that his father would never allow. On the last day of national mourning for Hafez’s death, they went to Latakia with the foreign ministry to receive a brigade of Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon, who marched in a memorial parade. The display of military solidarity sent a message to Bashar—that Hezbollah would be a source of confidence.

    The Iranian government had a harder time getting close to Bashar than their Hezbollah proxy. They attended several meetings with Iranian officials who sought to establish a “red phone” between Tehran and Damascus, so that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could coordinate with Bashar. Mohamad Nassif, knowing that Hafez would never have approved, rejected the idea before even notifying Bashar of the offer. In another attempt, Iran put key Syrian businessmen in control of shrines in Damascus and land for religious schools throughout Syria. Many of these businessmen had sold Iran weapons during its war with Iraq and helped acquire contracts with the Syrian government. Control over the shrines and schools ensured a steady flow of pro-Iranian influence and money in Syria’s capital to buy loyalty from elites. All the while, Iran still wanted control over Bashar.

    The March 2011 uprising presented an irresistible opportunity for Iran to assert permanent dominance throughout greater Syria. Iran acted quickly, sending Secretary Jalili to Damascus just days after protesters took to the streets in Daraa. Jalili pitched the Iron Curtain plan to Bashar’s inner circle, assuring them that he knew the formula to neutralize protesters effectively. Iranian officials encouraged Assad to avoid concessions that could limit their influence over Assad’s inner circle. As the tensions evolved into armed conflict, Iran immediately sent advisors, snipers, and special forces to support Bashar. To compensate for defections from his officers, Bashar padded his loyalist camp with fighters and strategic planners from Iran and Hezbollah. Hafez spent decades protecting himself from such an incursion, but by late 2011, his son was desperate for a friend.

    With Iran confirming a “no concessions” approach, ASSad was wary of other states courting him with reform options. In 2011, we received separate reform proposals from Qatar and the UAE. Assad refused both. As the death toll escalated, Turkey seemed to dent the Iron Curtain with its proposal on January 27, 2012 to downgrade ASSad to prime minister, but allow him to preserve his control over the military and air force intelligence. The plan proposed that Vice President Farouk al-Shara, a Sunni who had previously called for reconciliation, assume the presidency and place Assad’s brother-in-law, Assif Shwakat, as defense minister. The Iranians balked at the plan, they could not trust a reformer in the top position or Shwakat. ASSad himself did not trust the Turks, but was willing to consider options as the conflict escalated out of control under the Iron Curtain. By February, Bashar engaged with the Turks on their plan in an effort to ease Western pressure.

    In March 2012, Vice President Shara hosted reconciliation meetings with the opposition. Iran was furious and used its influence to stop any further meetings. Reconciliation posed a direct threat to Iran’s Iron Curtain strategy, threatening to reunify the country outside of the Iranian umbrella. On July 18, a bomb in Damascus killed Assif Shwakat and several other key members of the security apparatus. Iranian officials used the bombing to convince Assad that reconciliation would only bring more attacks on his inner circle. In response, Bashar became more intransigent, and avoided any restructuring that would reduce his power.

    Meanwhile, Hezbollah proved to be an effective fighting force for Bashar. The Battle of Qusayr in 2013 marked an important moment in this relationship. Syrian forces tried to take the predominantly Sunni city surrounded by Alawite areas from the rebels three times and failed. Hezbollah entered the surrounding regions. Through media and propaganda campaigns, Hezbollah convinced the people that Assad could not protect them. When Hezbollah overtook the rebels in Qusayr, the surrounding Alawite communities were more adoptive of their propaganda and influence. Iran capitalized on this gain by establishing Syrian Hezbollah, investing heavily in the pro-government militias known as the National Defense Forces.

    Through Hezbollah and the National Defense Force, Iran fostered an effective future insurgency in Syria. This core group of fighters, and the civilian populations they control, are Iran’s new stronghold for influence and trust in Syria. As Assad’s barrel bombs drove large portions of Syria’s Sunni and other populations out of the country, Hezbollah and the National Defense Force stoked sectarianism, convincing the Shia and Alawite populations that Bashar cannot protect them only Iran can. This strategy has now placed Iran as the key power broker for Syria, regardless of Bashar al-ASSad’s fate.

    Iran’s incursion into ASSad’s inner circle makes it capable of causing the collapse of his regime. On August 5, Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, Iran’s former ambassador to Syria, claimed that Tehran has consistently pleaded with Bashar against his brutal approach to the uprising. This statement, completely incongruous with Iran’s real guidance to the Syrian government, reveals the beginnings of the betrayal moment. With Iran’s newly secured source of influence among militias on the ground, such rhetoric reveals Bashar’s expendability with Iran poised to dominate any transitional process. Tehran will retain control over Hezbollah and the National Defense Forces, thereby maintaining its influence in the country. Hafez warned his son of this threat before he died, long before the revolution. Iran’s wartime alliance with Bashar was never about religious kinship or keeping him in power. It is about controlling Syria, with or without the ASSads.

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    Iran and It’s Master’s Helped ISIS Become A Monstrous Terror Outfit:

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recently accused the United States of not taking seriously the threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. “There is still no serious understanding about the threat and they [the United States] have as yet taken no serious action,” Zarif said, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.

    In addition, Washington has not invited Tehran to join the core coalition – comprising Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Turkey and the United States – aimed at defeating ISIS. Washington and Tehran share a common objective in Iraq: defeating the group and empowering the central government in Baghdad.

    Instead of pointing fingers and having Iran attempt to hide its underlying strategic and geopolitical intentions, it would be more effective if both governments examine their recent regional activities. They should observe how they are the major contributors in growing ISIS into a monster, and how its rise still serves Tehran’s regional interests.

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    Iran and ISIS:

    Iran’s support for President Bashar al-ASSad has been instrumental in keeping the Alawites in power in Syria. However, this assistance also caused the uprising to spiral into a full-fledged sectarian civil war. In other words, the Iranian and Syrian governments’ use of brute force further radicalized and militarized the conflict.

    Tehran’s involvement, and that of its proxy Hezbollah, in the Syrian conflict ratcheted up sectarianism as well, pitting Sunnis, Shiites and Alawites against each other. This enabled al-Qaeda affiliates and groups such as ISIS to develop, organize, recruit and coordinate more efficiently.

    From the start, Iran’s line has been that ASSad was attacked by terrorists and radical Sunni Islamist groups. Damascus employed the same argument to legitimize its use of force and prevent foreign intervention.

    The Syrian government, with help from Iranian advisors,released several ISIS members and Salafists from prison in late 2011 and early 2012, in order to strengthen the argument that ASSad was a target of radicals and terrorists rather than a popular uprising. ISIS recruitment significantly intensified during this time.

    From the start, the rise of such radical groups served the interests of Tehran and Damascus. Both succeeded in sending the West, particularly the United States, a robust message that there is no alternative to ASSad, and that any foreign military intervention would exacerbate the conflict.

    The elite Quds Forces, a branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, has gained significant power in Iraq and Syria since the rise of ISIS. Tehran no longer sees a need to hide the involvement of its troops in these countries. The growing role of the IRGC and Quds Forces is being justified by Iran’s claim that it is fighting ISIS. Washington sees no other option than to turn a blind eye to the increasing role of Iranian troops.

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    Iran Exploiting The Rise Of ISIS:

    Tehran and the IRGC have been carrying out effective foreign policies to serve their own interests since the rise of ISIS. Firstly, Iran has managed to project itself as pivotal in defeating ISIS. Secondly, the security threat posed by the group has shifted attention from Tehran’s nuclear program.

    The strategic catastrophe of invading Iraq in 2003 gave birth to al-Qaeda affiliates and other radical groups such as ISIS. The post-invasion instability and involvement of U.S. troops in Iraq provided a suitable environment and excuse for such groups to grow and recruit to fight what they call American imperialism and occupation.

    Iran’s support for the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government gave ISIS the tools to exploit the growing disaffection of Iraqi Sunnis, who were left out of the political process. Without Iranian support for its close ally Syria, as well as U.S. involvement in Iraq, it is hard to imagine that ISIS would have found the right landscape in Syria (and later Iraq) to become a monster and a powerful non-state actor.

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    How ISIS Serves The Interests Of The ASSad Regime?

    A year or so ago, the main groups fighting on the rebel side were disorganized and badly behaved, but most of them still identified—at least in their core aims of toppling ASSad and building a nation state open to all Syrians—with the street movement that started in 2011. And while rebel groups began taking a larger part in the conflict in 2012, most of them were Syrian and viewed as part of the communities in which they established themselves.

    In contrast, ISIS is a group with an international profile and an extremist view of Islamic rule. And it has shown its readiness to take on any Syrians it doesn’t like, whether opposition or regime supporters. In September ISIS ousted the moderately Islamist Ahfad al-Rasoul from Raqqa by using suicide bombings (Jabhat al-Nusra, another al-Qaeda offshoot, had clashed with the group, but had not gone this far). It pushed out Northern Storm, a local rebel band, from the town of Azaz, a staging post between Aleppo and the Turkish border. And it’s also been fighting the armed wing of Syria’s Kurdish party, the PYD, in the northeast. All of which has left little doubt about its strength, or the damage it has caused to the rebellion itself.

    The mainstream opposition is in a tricky position. On December 19, its exiled leadership council, the Syrian National Coalition, issued a blunt statement accusing ISIS of “abducting people for not abiding by their self-imposed regulations” and declaring that “the Coalition does not consider ISIS a part of the opposition. Its actions serve the regime’s interests.” But the Coalition has wavered on other groups with extreme views, since disavowing them highlights the lack of fighters allied with it on the ground. For example, it denounced the US’s designation of Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist group in 2012 and today has an unclear relationship with other Islamist groups.

    ISIS’s real power comes from the fear it seeks and manages to inspire. The group has shown zero tolerance for political dissent. Many Syrians along the border mentioned with horror ISIS’s execution of two young boys in Aleppo due to alleged heresy. The kidnappings of local activists and journalists has deterred dissent while also whipping up anti-ISIS sentiment. The group has shown few qualms about Sunni civilians getting killed in the process. Beheadings have become common. Father Paolo dall’Oglio, an Italian Jesuit priest who has lived in Syria for thirty years, and who campaigns for inter-religious tolerance, is missing, abducted by ISIS during a visit to the city of Raqqa in late July. As with dozens of others who remain in captivity, ISIS has not demanded ransom or announced his execution; rather it appears to be holding hostages as an insurance against attacks.

    This has caused many Syrians to despise ISIS. Since June, there have been anti-ISIS protests in Raqqa—something which requires courage given ISIS’s ruthlessness. More recently, even Islamist activists such as Hadi al-Abdullah, a prominent Syrian from Homs, have criticized the group, describing them as “Dawlet al-Baghdadi,” or Baghdadi’s state, echoing “Suria al-Assad”, ASSad’s Syria, the way regime supporters refer to the country. And yet ISIS continues to recruit Syrian fighters. Some say that Syrians joined because the group offers better money and protection than other rebel outfits. In an interview posted to YouTube, Saddam al-Jamal, a former leader of Ahfad al-Rasoul, explains that he defected to ISIS, because moderate fighters are subject to too much foreign interference and are pressured to fight Islamists as well as the regime.

    His view is symptomatic of how hostile many Syrians have become to outside powers, which, according to many opposition supporters, have done more harm than good by supporting the opposition just enough to continue the war, but not enough to ensure a decisive victory.

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    To Dismantle ISIS, Stop Iran:

    Hezbusatan hasn’t been well for a long time, due mostly to the draining effect the organization’s operation in Syria has had. But recently, things seem to have gotten better, and the Party of Satan is enjoying some small victories thanks to the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and its threat to Lebanon.

    A few months into the Syrian revolution, Bashar ASSad and Iran decided that the best way to survive would be to adopt a narrative where they become the good guys, so to speak. Both Hezbusatan and ASSad suddenly changed their rhetoric from “death to America” to “death to terrorists,” and as the US and other Western powers ignored ASSad’s atrocities and the eventual rise of ISIS, Iran and ASSad became the only local actors fighting terrorism in the region.

    Of course, the real fighters against ISIS were the Free Syrian Army, but Iran and ASSad made it seem as if they themselves were the victims of all the infighting in Syria.

    Now, they think, is the time to reap the rewards of this narrative. US President Obama finally decided to take action against the imminent ISIS threat, and now over 40 nations are ready to join a US-led coalition against the group in Iraq, and eventually in Syria.

    But two things need to be addressed before any action is taken:

    First, why is it so vital that Iran join the anti-ISIS camp, even indirectly? Because it’s their only ticket to salvation, and the only way out of the shithole they’ve dug for themselves. Iran needs to preserve its interests in Syria or the Shiite Islamic State won’t be able to export the revolution and the weapons it needs which would be its undoing. The stretch of land from Latakia, through Homs, Damascus and Qalamoun, all the way through Lebanon’s Bekaa and Naqoura, has to stay under the control of the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbusatan there is no other option for them in this.

    If the US is going to strike ISIS in Syria, this is a crucial point. Refusing to ally with Iran or accept them as part of the coalition is not enough. Turning a blind eye on Iran’s hegemony in the region will not only complicate matters for the Syrian opposition and their regional allies, it will also prolong the war and expand it into Lebanon and back to Iraq.

    In Lebanon, for example, it is suddenly acceptable that Hezbusatan has joined the Lebanese Army in their recent battles in Arsal because ISIS’s beheadings of Lebanese soldiers were a more terrifying prospect. And not many Lebanese seem to be outraged that Hezbusatan thugs have beaten up or killed countless Syrian refugees which includes women, children, and elderly in Lebanon in the past year or so alone.

    Hezbusatan hasn’t seen better days in the past three years. ISIS’s arrival in Lebanon has made it very easy for Hezbusatan to act more freely and with impunity through the state’s security and military institutions. Hezbusatan will not rest until it takes back control over everything, from the presidency and parliament to every branch of the state. This will not end well.

    The second concern is related to the Sunni majority of the region, both in their governments and communities. It is not insignificant that former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was back on the Iraqi scene Monday as one of the country’s three vice presidents. His new post is mostly ceremonial, but it says a lot about Iran’s enduring power in Iraq, and the convergence of US and Iranian interests in the region in the near future. The question is whether Maliki’s comeback will impact the future of Syria, as well.

    It will also be very difficult to convince Sunni tribes and communities in Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS and break up its support base as long as Iran is perceived as a US partner. If Sunni fears are not addressed and Iran’s interests are ignored, it will simply lead to yet more Sunni resentment, fear, and rage. This rage will pave the way for yet another ISIS and perpetuate a vicious circle.

    ISIS has been empowered because a lot of Syrian and Iraqi Sunnis decided to act after years of being ignored. The group has fed off of the deepest Sunni anger, and the only way to keep new waves of extremism from forming is to assuage the sources of that anger.

    So it seems the US will need its regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Turkey, and Jordan to act as the main partners in the coalition, but this will not prove easy if these states are not given guarantees on Syria. These allies will not enter a war with US if they feel it serves the interests of ASSad and Iran.

    Will ASSad go? How will Iran’s role and interests in Syria be dealt with? What will US involvement in a post-ISIS phase entail? Will they stop financing and harboring extremist operatives? Will they stop supporting, funding, and exporting extremism? Will they stop playing with the Zionists to massacre thousands of Sunni Palestinians by using its proxy, Hama’s? Will they stop creating chaos in other sovereign countries like which they did in Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, etc. using sectarianism and shias there? Will they stop helping or aiding in creating extremist outfits like Isis? Will they let Lebanon free by controlling or dismantling its extremist proxy, Hezbollah? Will they stop trying to takeover Sunni dominant areas and countries? Will they let go the desire to establish a Shiite crescent? Will they without any Taqiyah consider Sunnis as their brothers?
    These are the questions Iran needs to answer with utmost honesty, of course without Taqiyah!

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