US Accuses Iran of ‘Secret Deal’ With al-Qaeda

No Evidence, But Treasury Dept 'Convinced' Deal Exists

Fresh off of weeks of accusing the Iranian government of secretly backing Iraqi Shi’ite militias against the US occupation force there (without any evidence) the Obama Administration is now accusing the Iranian government of having entered into a “secret deal” with al-Qaeda.

The latest allegations came by way of the US Treasury Department, which claimed that al-Qaeda is using Iran as a “pipeline” to funnel cash and extremists to various countries. They named al-Qaeda ‘facilitators’ involved but named no Iranian government officials.

And indeed, they conceded that there was no actual evidence to back up this claim either, but simply maintained that they are “convinced” that such a deal simply must exist. Though al-Qaeda has long sought a presence in Iran’s Sunni southeast (forging ties with Sunni Baloch separatist movements), this has usually been to the detriment of the Shi’ite government, and Iran has been fighting al-Qaeda openly for decades.

Which makes the claims of a “deal” puzzling, as the two sides have a strong ideological and historical animosity. The entire basis of the claim seems to be that since al-Qaeda has a presence in Iran and since the US is hostile toward both, it is only natural that they must be in cahoots. The fact that it makes absolutely no sense is only a minor inconvenience for an otherwise useful narrative.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.