Pompeo: Iran is al-Qaeda's new base

Pompeo: Iran is al-Qaeda's new base In a speech referring to the newly released documents, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran is the new base of the al-Qaeda terrorist group.

Speaking at the National Club of Journalists in Washington on Tuesday, January 23, Pompeo said Abu al-Masri, al-Qa'eda's second-in-command, who was involved in various bombings and killings of Americans, was killed in Tehran last year. Reuters: The US Secretary of State today reveals the Iranian regime's connection with al-Qaeda

Pompeo says Al Qaeda has new home base in Iran

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday, without providing hard evidence, that al Qaeda had established a new home base in Iran.

The New York Times reported in November that al Qaeda’s Abu Muhammad al-Masri, accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, was gunned down by Israeli operatives in Iran. Iran denied the report, saying there were no al Qaeda “terrorists” on its soil.

Pompeo told a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington that he was announcing publicly for the first time that al-Masri died on Aug. 7 last year.

Pompeo said his presence in Iran was no surprise, and added:

“Al-Masri’s presence inside Iran points to the reason that we’re here today ... Al-Qaeda has a new home base: it is the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, David Brunnstrom and Humeyra Pamuk

https://www.reuters.com