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Iran hands 16 alqaeda to saudis Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/08/12/wirans12.xmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/08/12/wirans12.xml
Iran hands 16 al-Qa'eda men to Saudis
By Toby Harnden in Washington
(Filed: 12/08/2002)
In an apparent response to American pressure for Teheran to cease sponsoring terrorism, the Iranian government has arrested 16 al-Qa'eda fighters and handed them over to Saudi Arabia.
Prince Saud Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said that the al-Qa'eda members had been handed over in the knowledge that any intelligence gleaned from interrogating them would be given to the Americans.
The handover, which took place in June and was confirmed yesterday by an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, followed criticism by the White House that Iran was harbouring followers of Osama bin Laden.
But the news was greeted with caution in Washington. Senator Fred Thompson, a Republican member of the Senate intelligence committee, said: "This is one instance that serves the purposes of the Saudis and also the Iranians.
"Over a longer period of time, the track record has not been very good. As far as Iran is concerned, of course, there is indication that they have co-operated with and assisted al-Qa'eda in times past."
But the handover could be a sign that President George W Bush's uncompromising stance against Iran's Shi'ite fundamentalist regime might be achieving results.
Mr Bush has encouraged Iranians to overthrow their government and his advisers believe that toppling Saddam Hussein by military force in Iraq could be a catalyst for a popular uprising in Iran.
The advisers have expressed hope that Mr Bush's tough words could encourage the Iranian government to try to win back American favour by changing its behaviour.
Prince Saud told the Washington Post: "We asked them [the Iranians] to hand them over and they did. Iran has not only co-operated with Saudi Arabia in this conflict in Afghanistan but co-operated extensively with the United States."
Intelligence information gleaned from the 16, he said, had been passed to Washington. "All the information we have on al-Qa'eda has been exchanged with the US."
All 16 had been held in Iran along with four women and six children and were now in Saudi Arabia. Prince Saud would not say whether they were still in detention or had been freed.
Zalmay Khalizad, the US National Security Council's director for the Near East, said this month that Iran had been sheltering al-Qa'eda members who had escaped from Afghanistan after the Taliban regime fell.
Mr Bush identified Iran, along with Iraq and North Korea, as part of the "axis of evil" during his State of the Union address in January.
Last month, he issued a statement - hailed by opposition groups and condemned by the Iranian government - saying: "The Iranian people voted for political and economic reform yet their voices are not being listened to by the unelected people who are the real rulers of Iran".
This signalled a break with the previous policy of supporting President Mohammad Khatami, who had talked of reforming the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme ruler. Instead, Mr Bush backed demonstrators dissatisfied with lack of progress towards the reforms Mr Khatami had promised.
The shift was part of an overall Middle East strategy that places a premium on encouraging democracy.
Recently Mr Khalilzad said Iran continued to support terrorists, including the anti-Israeli Hizbollah, and had sheltered al-Qa'eda members.
Its backing of terrorism and determination to acquire weapons of mass destruction was a "dangerous mix", he added. "Although Iran is a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the government is developing the capability to produce chemical weapons.
"For example it has manufactured and stockpiled blister, blood and choking agents and grown its pesticides production capability." He said America supported Iran's people "in their quest to decide their own destiny".
Mr Khatami met Prince Saud in Teheran this month and both urged America not to move against Iraq, calling on the Iraqi government to respect United Nations resolutions "so as to remove the grounds for an attack".
Prince Saud suggested that Iran had also worked directly with Washington against al-Qa'eda but would not give details.
"The US and Iran can speak for themselves," he said.
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