Al Qaeda In Iran Link To Canada Plot Surprise Experts

Al Qaeda In Iran Link To Canada Plot Surprise Experts

Two men were arrested recently on the suspicion that they were planning to derail a train, and the police revealed that Al Qaeda elements based in Iran were supposedly behind the plan. But a number of experts were surprised by this statement.

According to Barbara Slavin of the Atlantic Council, the link does not make sense. A number of experts have indicated that Al Qaeda and Iran do not have friendly relations. This was confirmed through documents that were seized from a hideout of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Iran is mainly Shiite and the organization is Sunni. The situation in Syria shows that Iran is supporting President Bashar Assad while the organization is allied with the rebels. A number of members of the organization are also under house arrest in Iran, which has been keeping an eye on their activities.

However, authorities have indicated that no evidence show that the plan was state-supported, which dispels any possible involvement by the government in Iran. No other details were offered by the supposed support given by Al Qaeda in Iran in the plan. Center for Strategic and International Studies senior affiliate Rick Nelson said that Iran will not support a plan by a Sunni terrorist group that will result to antagonism against the country.

Nelson added that detained Al Qaeda members in Iran may have more freedom to move if they had a hand in the plan to derail the train. It will also show that they have the capability of planning an attack without the knowledge of the Iranian government.

However, Seth Jones of Rand Corp indicated that it may be possible for the organization to accept support in planning attacks while in Iran, although it will not allow the Iranian government to lead them.

Last October the US Treasury Department revealed that the organization was allowed to run a pipeline that moved fighters and money in South Asia by Iran. Monterey Institute of International Studies senior researcher Jeffrey Bale indicated that although Shiites are considered to be heretics by Sunni extremists, alliances were supposedly forged by a number of Shiite extremist.

The situation is complicated although some divisions in the Iranian clerical and military establishment may have a different relationship with Al Qaeda.

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday April 23 2013, 4:36 AM EST. Ref: LA Times. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0