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Sept. 11 Commission Finds Evidence That Al-Qaeda Operatives Moved Through Iran Before Attacks
The U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has found new evidence of contacts between Iran and al-Qaeda, but no evidence that Tehran was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks, Time reported Friday (see GSN, June 22). The Sept. 11 commission found evidence indicating that between eight and 10 of the hijackers involved in the attacks passed through Iran from October 2000 to February 2001, a senior U.S. official said. The commission also found that Iran allowed al-Qaeda operatives to enter and leave the country via the Afghan border beginning in October 2000, according to sources. In a report set to be released this week, though, the commission does not offer evidence indicating that Iranian leaders were aware of planning for the Sept. 11 attacks, Time reported (Zagorin and Klein, Time, July 16). Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said yesterday that there was evidence of Iran allowing al-Qaeda operatives to enter and leave the country, but no evidence of an “official connection” between Tehran and the Sept. 11 attacks (USA Today, July 19). Iran yesterday denied that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers may have crossed through the country with the government’s knowledge. “We have very long borders and it is impossible to totally control them. It is normal that several people could pass our borders illegally without being found by us,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. “Similarly, more people may cross the border between Mexico and the U.S.,” he added (Xinhua News Agency, July 18).
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