Mike Pompeo called Iran a new home base for Al Qaeda terrorist group

The U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran for becoming a new ‘home base’ for Al-Qaeda.

On Tuesday at the National Press club, Pompeo said that “Al-Qaida has a new home base. It is the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

Further, he added, “I would say Iran is indeed the new Afghanistan—as the key geographic hub for al-Qaida—but it’s actually worse.”

During his speech with the New York Times report, he confirmed the death of Al Qaida number two, Abu Muhammad al-Masri in Tehran last year.

Pompeo uttered that “Al-Masri’s presence inside Iran points to the reason that we’re here today … al-Qaida has a new home base: It is the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

Al-Masri’s assassination was blamed on Israel, but Pompeo did not confirm that Israel was involved in the attack.

“Unlike in Afghanistan, when al-Qaida was hiding in the mountains, al-Qaida today is operating under the hard shell of the Iranian regime’s protection,” Pompeo said.

Pompeo’s statement comes just a week before he leaves the office. The News settler cited that Al- Masri is the mastermind behind the 1998 bombing of the two U.S. embassies in Africa.

He emphasized that collaborations between the Al Qaida and Iran are a “massive force for evil all over the world.”

Pompeo set a $7 million reward for information about Muhammad Abbatay, also known as Abd al-Rahman al- Maghrebi, an Iran-based Al Qaida group leader during his conference.

On contrary, Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif opposed Pompeo’s allegations and said that “From designating Cuba to fictitious Iran “declassifications “and Al-Qaeda claims, Mr ‘we lie, cheat, steal’ (Pompeo) is pathetically ending his disastrous career with more warmongering lies. No one is fooled.”

Source: Khaama News