Pompeo Rekindles Debate About US Response to Iran's Hosting of Al-Qaida

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made more detailed allegations about Iran's secretive relationship with al-Qaida, rekindling a debate about how the United States should respond to the decades-old cooperation between its Mideast rival and the anti-American terrorist network.   DIA has now publicly confirmed what I said in January: Al-Qaeda’s global terror operations is headquartered in Iran, with the permission of the the Iranian regime. Meanwhile, the Biden Admin is negotiating to lift terror sanctions on Iran?That’s NOT America First. https://t.co/EKZJOj35rb

In an interview that aired Friday on VOA Persian's TV channel, the former top U.S. diplomat, who left office in January, said Iran's Islamist rulers have allowed al-Qaida's most senior operational leaders to stay in the country on two conditions.   Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. "(First), you'll do what we tell you to do. And second, you won't conduct operations against Iranian assets or inside of Iran. I'm certain that's the case," said Pompeo, who also served as CIA director prior to leading the State Department under former President Donald Trump.   Pompeo said those two conditions give Iran "enormous control" over al-Qaida. As for what al-Qaida gets in exchange for abiding by Iran's rules, he said Tehran "provide(s) support and enable(s) these al-Qaida leaders to conduct their global operations campaign."