In an interview with Iranian state television, a high-ranking Iranian government official admitted that the Islamic Republic of Iran facilitated the passage of the al-Qaeda members who went on to carry out the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States. The interview with Mohammad-Javad Larijani, a senior foreign affairs advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the secretary of the High Council for Human Rights in the Iranian Judiciary, was broadcast on May 30, 2018. In the interview, Larijani discussed in depth the relationship between the Iranian government and al-Qaeda; he also detailed how Iranian intelligence supervised the passage and relocation of al-Qaeda members in Iran.
“Our government agreed not to stamp the passports of some of them because they were on transit flights for two hours, and they were resuming their flights without having their passports stamped. However, their movements were under the complete supervision of the Iranian intelligence,” declared Mohammed-Javad Larijani.
#شاهد | اعتراف معاون السلطة القضائية الإيرانية، محمد جواد لاريجاني، في تصريحات غير مسبوقة، أن #إيران سهلت مرور عناصر #القاعدة الذين نفذوا هجمات 11 سبتمبر/أيلول 2001 في #الولايات_المتحدة، مؤكدا ما ورد في تقرير اللجنة الخاصة بالهجمات في هذا الصدد. pic.twitter.com/7sOl4dWisk
— فريق التواصل DOS (@DOTArabic) June 8, 2018
Larijani’s remarks were the first time that a senior Iranian government official has publicly admitted to playing a direct role in the 9/11 terror attacks. The admission was not news to the United States government, which has long maintained that Iran had aided and abetted the 9/11 hijackers as they moved through the Middle East in preparation for their jihadist mission. The inflammatory confession comes on the heels of legal decisions that found Iran guilty of assisting the 9/11 terrorists, as well as President Trump pulling out of the controversial Iran nuclear deal.
Larijani is no stranger to controversy between his country and the U.S. In 2009, before the United States had given Iran enough concessions to agree to a farcical nuclear deal, Larijani spoke about President Obama in a blatantly racist manner at a meeting of the Islamic Society of Engineers: “Since Obama came to office he spoke of dialogue with Iran. What has happened is that this [n-word] is talking about regime change in Iran.” He also threatened to allow the free passage of drug smugglers throughout Iran in 2011; shortly afterwards, the Obama administration agreed to terminate Project Cassandra, a DEA operation designed to target Hezbollah drug smugglers, in order to sweeten the nuclear deal for Iran. As was revealed earlier this month, the Obama White House also had a secret initiative to allow Iran to bypass U.S. sanctions in order to convert previously frozen assets into American dollars.
“The evidence presented established that Iran’s provision of material support to al-Qaeda was a cause of the 9/11 attacks and the resulting damage, injuries, and deaths,” said Robert Haefele, attorney for families of 9/11 victims.
Family members, survivors, first responders, rescue and recovery workers, volunteers and residents are learning how to tell their 9/11 story. Learn to share yours, become a volunteer. https://t.co/lQvHwgjo5o pic.twitter.com/TEoeEBASK2
— 9/11 Tribute Museum (@911TribMuseum) June 11, 2018
In a sharp departure from his predecessor, President Trump’s government has been tougher on the unrepentant state sponsor of international terrorism. Earlier this year, federal Judge George B. Daniels ordered Iran to pay $6 billion to the victims of 9/11 after finding that the Islamic Republic, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Central Bank of the Islamic Republic were responsible for aiding in the terror attacks.
