Planning 9/11 Bin Laden and al-Qaeda terrorists (Footage: Al-Jazeera)
According to the lawsuit, the relationship between Iran and al-Qaeda was initiated in the early 1990s in Sudan. At the time, Sudan turned into the worldâs second state, after Iran, to be ruled by radical Islam. According to the testimonies of senior CIA officials, Iranâs President Rafsanjani, Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian and Revolutionary Guards Chief Mohsen Rezai visited Sudan. They were accompanied by a figure well-known to Israelâs intelligence services: Imad Mugniyah, the head of Hezbollahâs military wing (Mugniyah was assassinated in February of 2008 in an operation attributed to Israel.) All participants in the meeting pledged to assist the Sudanese regime and join forces with it in supporting other jihadist movements in the Middle East. When it turned out that Sudan was emerging as a new terrorism theater, Israelâs intelligence agencies started to deploy human and electronic resources there. The file on developments in Sudan until 1996 is known in Israel as âBlue Smurfsâ and contains a treasure trove of information about the seed that later became Global Jihad. When Saraciniâs attorneys sought the Israeli governmentâs assistance in receiving the Blue Smurfs file, they were told the information was acquired in cooperation with a foreign party, and that this information can only be shared with this partyâs approval. Such authorization has not been given to this day.
What we are allowed to reveal here is that Israelâs intelligence officials identified at the time tight relations between radical Islamic terrorists in Egypt and Department 15 in Iranâs Intelligence Ministry. Notably, Department 15 is tasked with exporting the Islamic revolution to other Arab states.
Al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri (Photo: AP)
Israel was also able to identify a prominent terror leader in Sudan. His name was Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian jihadist who served a prison term for his role in President Anwar Sadatâs assassination. Year later, Zawahiriâs name became known worldwide; he turned into al-Qaedaâs chief strategist, Bin Ladenâs deputy and successor, and a man with a $25 million price tag on his head, courtesy of the FBI. In April of 1991, Zawahiri secretly visited Iran and sought Iranian assistance for a Cairo revolution. The parties agreed on Iranian support for Zawahiriâs organization in the form of money and training. The terror leader sent many of his men to train in Iranian camps, mostly under the guidance of Lebanese Hezbollah members led by Imad Mugniyah. During his visit to Iran, al-Zawahiri was convinced of the immense power of a suicide attack as an effective modus operandi. Years later he realized that if a suicide bomber is effective, a terrorist who crashes a Boeing aircraft into a tower would be much more effective.
According to the lawsuit, the relationship between Iran and al-Qaeda was initiated in the early 1990s in Sudan. At the time, Sudan turned into the worldâs second state, after Iran, to be ruled by radical Islam. According to the testimonies of senior CIA officials, Iranâs President Rafsanjani, Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian and Revolutionary Guards Chief Mohsen Rezai visited Sudan. They were accompanied by a figure well-known to Israelâs intelligence services: Imad Mugniyah, the head of Hezbollahâs military wing (Mugniyah was assassinated in February of 2008 in an operation attributed to Israel.) All participants in the meeting pledged to assist the Sudanese regime and join forces with it in supporting other jihadist movements in the Middle East. When it turned out that Sudan was emerging as a new terrorism theater, Israelâs intelligence agencies started to deploy human and electronic resources there. The file on developments in Sudan until 1996 is known in Israel as âBlue Smurfsâ and contains a treasure trove of information about the seed that later became Global Jihad. When Saraciniâs attorneys sought the Israeli governmentâs assistance in receiving the Blue Smurfs file, they were told the information was acquired in cooperation with a foreign party, and that this information can only be shared with this partyâs approval. Such authorization has not been given to this day.
What we are allowed to reveal here is that Israelâs intelligence officials identified at the time tight relations between radical Islamic terrorists in Egypt and Department 15 in Iranâs Intelligence Ministry. Notably, Department 15 is tasked with exporting the Islamic revolution to other Arab states.
Al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri (Photo: AP)
Israel was also able to identify a prominent terror leader in Sudan. His name was Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian jihadist who served a prison term for his role in President Anwar Sadatâs assassination. Year later, Zawahiriâs name became known worldwide; he turned into al-Qaedaâs chief strategist, Bin Ladenâs deputy and successor, and a man with a $25 million price tag on his head, courtesy of the FBI. In April of 1991, Zawahiri secretly visited Iran and sought Iranian assistance for a Cairo revolution. The parties agreed on Iranian support for Zawahiriâs organization in the form of money and training. The terror leader sent many of his men to train in Iranian camps, mostly under the guidance of Lebanese Hezbollah members led by Imad Mugniyah. During his visit to Iran, al-Zawahiri was convinced of the immense power of a suicide attack as an effective modus operandi. Years later he realized that if a suicide bomber is effective, a terrorist who crashes a Boeing aircraft into a tower would be much more effective.
it would seem a perfect opportunity
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