KHAMENEH'I RESISTS EXTRADITING OF AL-QA’EDA OFFICIALS
TEHRAN 29 June (IPS) Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is locked in serious, if not vital, discussion with Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the leader of the Islamic Republic over the extradition of some senior members of the al-Qa’eda organisation to their respective countries, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to well informed sources.
Iranian official admitted the arrest of at least five hundred al-Qa’eda
"terrorists", but said they don’t know if any senior member of the
network like the Egyptian Dr. Eyman al Zawaheri, Osama Ben Laden’s
right hand man, his son, Sa’d or his spokesman, Soleyman Aboy Qaith,
a Kuwaiti are among the detainees, since they have several passports.
Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, the government’s spokesman said once the nationality of the detainees established, they would be handed over to their countries, provided they have security arrangements with the Islamic Republic, which is not the case with Egypt that has no diplomatic relations with Tehran.
"Because he had authorised the entry of the al-Qa’eda people to Iran, where they had been protected by the Revolutionary Guards, Ayatollah Khameneh'i is reluctant to let the men be extradited to their home countries, where they could face execution", an informed sources told Iran Press Service, adding that there is strong reason to believe that some of the networks members are in Iran.
"The negotiations, that also involve the former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani are very intense, as Khatami insist that all the terrorists must be handed over to their respective countries, arguing that if not, the regime would become absolutely isolated and placed under international embargo, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Washington suspects that last month’s explosions at a residential compound in the Saudi Arabia Capital of Riyadh was worked out by al-Qa’eda members based in Iran.
Mr Ramezanzadeh told the French news agency AFP on Saturday that many of the detainees were still being identified, but added that is was unlikely their names would ever be officially released anyway.
"We have not been able to identify all Al-Qa’eda members, and even if we did there is no reason for us to give their names to the press. This is a security issue, and this is how security apparatuses work", he said.
The Islamic Republic of Iran helped hundreds of al-Qa’eda members and the family of Osama Ben Laden to escape from Afghanistan and helped in the transit of hundreds of other members of the organisation and the toppled Taleban to reorganise or find refuge in other countries, the source, which is close to the revolutionary Guards, said.
"Iran helped Osama taking his rather large family out of Afghanistan from the very start of American (military) intervention in Afghanistan and bombardment of al-Qa’eda bases", the source added.
At first, and for sometimes, senior Iranian spokesmen would categorically deny the presence of al-Qa’eda or Taleban terrorists in Iran, the government, led by Mr. Khatami, being kept outside of the decision regarding sheltering the al-Qa’eda in Iran, but they made a 180 degree U-turn after the Intelligence Ministry announced the arrest of at least 150 of them.
"The Foreign Affaires Ministry or the government do not know about these matters more than any ordinary Iranian", the source observed.
"Osama and some senior members of al Qa’eda and Taleban were greeted in Mash-had by Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, who took them to Tehran with a private plane and were first placed in a luxurious compound, managed by the Revolutionary Guards in the posh Abbas Abad district, but after the American insisted that al Qa’eda and Taleban people are in Iran, they were moved to Alamout, north of the city of Qazvin, West of Tehran, out of curious eyes, the source said.
A mountain area, Alamout -- the base of Hasan Sabbah, the famous and legendary leader of the "feda’iyan", or "assassins" or "hashishins" – is a highly protected military site, one of the regime’s most secret missile installations being based there. AL-QA’EDA IRAN 29603