Posted on 02/20/2005 6:19:37 PM PST by freedom44
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Osama bin Laden may be in Iran. One of the most senior American diplomats in Pakistan has said the US believes Osama may have been intercepted and detained against his will by Iranian agents while travelling along the border between eastern Iran, Balochistan and Afghanistan.
It is a journey already tried out in the past by several Al Qaeda members, may be even by Osama himself, and therefore considered safe, explains the diplomat, who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity.
According to the diplomat, the "Osama in Iran" theory already features in American intelligence reports Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan or Afghanistan. "Until last September we knew, we were sure, that he was in south Waziristan. Now we think Iran, or Yemen. These are the theories they are putting forward," he explained.
For this reason, the United States is no longer putting as much pressure on Pakistan for the military operations to continue in south Waziristan or to open up new fronts in other areas on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the diplomat said. "To open new fronts along the border risks destabilizing Pakistan and there is no reason to do that, given that we are no longer sure Osama is in that area."
The Yemen theory indicated that Osama had fled to the Gulf country, driven partly by the desire to personally head up the new Al Qaeda offensive across the border in Saudi Arabia. But the most convincing hypothesis, considering the climate of tension between Washington and Tehran over the nuclear issue, is surely the Iranian one. And this is the one the diplomat insists on pursuing.
In the past there has been talk of the possible presence of leading Al Qaeda figures in Tehran, in a militarized compound directly controlled by the Pasdaran (Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards corps).
Al Qaeda number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and one of Osama's sons are the most illustrious names rumoured to be held there. Some say the Al Qaeda men are kept in conditions of "genuine hospitality", while others say Tehran is enforcing an "obligatory stay" and keeping them "under surveillance".
A Daily Briefing of Major News Stories on Iran:
Protests and now an earthquake in the Kerman area.
The home construction there is similar to Bam I think.
I hope it was in a less populated area.
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