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Iran
lines up its al-Qaeda aces
By Hooman Peimani
The Iranian government has confirmed the identification of some of the al-Qaeda
detainees in its custody. Although it has not yet released their names, there
are unconfirmed reports that they include high-ranking al-Qaeda members. If
this is true, Tehran could deal a heavy blow to the group by extraditing them
to their respective countries. This could give the Iranian government a
bargaining chip to demand concessions not only from the respective Arab states,
but also from the United States, which has so far failed to neutralize the
terrorist group.
In his weekend press conference, Iranian government spokesperson Abdullah
Ramezanzadeh stated that "we have not been able to identify all al-Qaeda
members [in our custody]". And he added, "And even if we did, there [were] no
reasons for us to give their names to the press. This is a security issue, and
this is how security apparatuses work." As for the fate of the al-Qaeda
members, he stated in an earlier press conference that those who had committed
crimes in Iran would be tried in that country, while others would be extradited
to their respective countries.
While Ramezanzadeh did not specify their nationality, there is speculation,
with some evidence to back it up, that they are mainly Saudis, Kuwaitis and
Egyptians. For example, about a week ago, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef
bin Abdulaziz confirmed that the Iranian authorities had informed him of the
existence of Saudi nationals among those al-Qaeda members who had been arrested
as they entered Iran from Afghanistan. However, he claimed not to be aware of
their names and numbers, although they would eventually be extradited to his
country. Reportedly, last year the Iranian government quietly extradited over
500 suspected al-Qaeda members who crossed the Afghan-Iranian border to Persian
Gulf Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, and to some Asian and European
countries.
Without providing any evidence, Western sources suggest that the al-Qaeda
members in Iran's custody include some of its top leadership, such as an
Egyptian-born man believed to be number three in al-Qaeda's military hierarchy
(Saif al-Adel), a Kuwaiti-born spokesman for al-Qaeda (Sulaiman Abu Gaith) and
a Saudi-born son of Osama bin Laden (Saad bin Laden).
If these people are indeed in Iran's custody, Tehran is in a position to demand
concessions from their respective countries - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and
Egypt - in return for their extradition. However, if this is the intention of
the Iranians, it will be more applicable to dealing with non-regional
states, such as the European nations, if some of the detainees have
European nationalities. In fact, the al-Qaeda members extradited last year
included Europeans. The Europeans have recently joined the Americans,
though in a different manner, in pressing Iran to sign an additional protocol
to the non-proliferation treaty of 1968.
Extracting concessions will also be applicable to Egypt, a country without full
diplomatic relations with Iran. The 1979 Islamic revolution severed
Iranian-Egyptian friendly relations. Factors such as Cairo's ties with Israel
and its taking sides with Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) and Iran's
alleged interference in Egypt's internal affairs created barriers to their
resumption of ties in the 1980s. Tehran and Cairo have been engaged in talks on
an on-and-off basis since the mid-1990s to normalize relations. This has
resulted in low-level diplomatic representation in each other's capital and in
talks at the foreign ministerial level, but the two countries are yet to
establish full diplomatic relations. Iran could use the extradition to Egypt of
high-ranking al-Qaeda members as leverage in the process of normalizing
relations, while both sides could use the occasion to end their estrangement.
As for a regional country such as Saudi Arabia, Tehran has security agreements
with Riyadh. They should include extradition of terrorists, although their
contents have not been released. Last year's extradition of al-Qaeda members to
Saudi Arabia provides grounds for this speculation. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,
allegedly the home to many of al-Qaeda's rank and file, have gradually become
Iran's regional friends since the end of the 1991 Gulf War. Their bilateral
relations have been growing in all fields, including security. Given this
reality, security cooperation is a major factor in confidence building and in
maintaining the cooperative mood between the two sides.
Yet, as the two Arab Persian Gulf states house American troops, Tehran might
use the opportunity to receive assurances as to their refusal to cooperate with
Washington should it resort to military means in dealing with Iran. This may
not be too much to demand since those countries have limited their cooperation
with the American military. As evident in the US-led war against Iraq, Saudi
Arabia denied the Americans the right to attack Iraq from its territory,
although Riyadh allowed them to use it for other related activities.
Uncertainty about the degree of cooperation of Kuwait resulted in the transfer
of the American military command from there to Qatar.
According to Western sources, Iran has been conducting secret talks with Egypt,
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for the extradition of the al-Qaeda members.
Undoubtedly, these countries should be interested in having those individuals,
whose interrogation could help them dismantle the al-Qaeda network in their
territories. Yet the Americans should be even more interested in putting their
hands on the al-Qaeda members if they are indeed its senior members. Among
others things, that could compensate to some extent for their failure to uproot
al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
As it did a year ago, Tehran will extradite those members to their respective
countries, and will exclude the US from the list of eligible recipients.
Nevertheless, given the loss of citizenship of senior al-Qaeda members born in
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, including Osama bin Laden and his family, there will
be grounds for their extradition to the US if their countries of birth refuse
to receive them for political reasons. While such a transaction would not be
enough to end the growing hostility of Washington towards Iran, it could
certainly make a pause. The question is whether Tehran would see any merit in
taking that option, which has no tangible impact on its estranged
ties with Washington.
Dr Hooman Peimani works as an independent consultant with international
organizations in Geneva and does research in international relations.
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact
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