London: A newly released trove of documents recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan have revealed “secret dealings” between Iran and Al Qaida.
Nearly half a million files found on the computer seized in the May 2, 2011, US raid on the Al Qaida founder’s hideout in Abbottabad were released by the CIA yesterday (Wednesday).
A never-before-seen 19-page document purportedly written by a senior member of Al Qaida details an arrangement between Iran and members of the group to strike American interests in “Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.”
Tehran and its largely Shiite proxy forces in the Middle East often fight against Sunni movements aligned with Al Qaida’s sectarian ideology.
Iranian intelligence facilitated the travel of some operatives with visas, while sheltering others. The author of the file, described as “well-connected,” explains that Al Qaida’s forces violated the terms of the agreement of the deal, however, resulting in several men being detained.
Iranian connections to Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups, such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are well-documented, but its ties to Al Qaida have until now been shrouded in secrecy.
The timing of the release comes as Donald Trump, the US president, is trying to dismantle a bilateral deal agreed with Iran to end its nuclear proliferation programme, which was negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama and one which he has described as the “worst deal ever made”.
Trump has been keen to portray Tehran as America’s greatest threat and will no doubt seize upon the documents as proof of the Islamic republic’s support for terrorism in the region.
Speaking at a national security seminar organised by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington DC last month about the release of the documents, Mike Pompeo, CIA director, said Al Qaida and Iran have always built “secret and open” ties.
He attributed the cooperation between the two parties to the fact that they view the West as a common enemy, referring to an “ideological consensus” of their cooperation against the West.
They considered the West a greater threat
He added that the two sides did not fight against each other because they considered the West a greater threat.
Mr Pompeo stressed the CIA was still watching these relations, especially with the complexity of the situation in Syria, noting that US intelligence is tracking the terrorist organisations’ loss of territories in Syria and Iran.
The documents also contained a log of bin Laden’s video collection, which included pornographic material, several Hollywood movies and three documentaries about himself.
Two newly released videos also show scenes from the wedding of bin Laden’s son Hamza, the first picture of the heir apparent as an adult.
According to Thomas Joscelyn and Bill Roggio, scholars at FDD who were allowed to study the trove before it was made public, it provides new insights.
“The Abbottabad repository confirms that bin Laden was anything but retired when US forces knocked down his door.
“He was not a mere figurehead,” they write in the Long War Journal.
