(RepublicanInformer)- Just as Joe Biden is about to be inaugurated, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that Iran is giving terrorist Islamic group Al-Qaeda a “second wind.”
With President Trump’s multitude of foreign policy successes and Joe Biden’s record of failing on the Middle East, the news is troublesome and could cause huge problems for the United States.
During a speech at the National Press Club on Tuesday, Secretary of State Pompeo said that Al-Qaeda “has a new home base” in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“As a result, bin Laden’s wicked creation is poised to gain strength and capabilities,” he added.
Live now! @SecPompeo delivers remarks at the National Press Club. https://t.co/b55mP9iKlL
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 12, 2021
This week Pompeo also announced a new round of sanctions of Iran as the country becomes increasingly hostile to the West. The decision was made after the discovery that the nation was associating with leaders of Al-Qaeda. The United States State Department also announced a reward of $7 million for information that will lead to Muhammad Abbatay, the leader of Al-Qaeda, being brought to justice.
“We ignore this Iran, Al-Qaeda Nexus at our own peril,” Secretary Pompeo said. “We need to acknowledge it, we must confront it. Indeed, we must defeat it,” he added.
Boy, is America going to miss decisive action against terrorists from the Trump administration…
Pompeo also said that he was aware the news might come as a surprise to Americans as Al-Qaeda had for a long time appeared to be becoming insignificant and powerless in the Middle East.
He explained that while Al-Qaeda is still much smaller in terms of numbers and influence that it was immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the group had found the “perfect choice” of a new safe haven in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Pompeo offered an insight into the long relationship between Iran and Al-Qaeda.
“In the early 90s, Al-Qaeda operatives travelled to Iran in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, the heartland of Hezbollah, for explosives training,” he said. “In the period before 9/11, the Iranian regime told border inspectors not to stamp Al-Qaeda member’s passport when they entered or left Iran on their way to or from Afghanistan.
He also described how a federal judge in New York ruled back in2011 that Iran “provided support for the 9/11 attacks based on the role it played in furthering Al-Qaeda operatives plans.”
With Biden in charge, it remains unclear exactly how he intends to deal with Iran. Last time Biden was in the White House, the Democrats and President Barack Obama created the disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal – the terms of which have been repeatedly breached and ignored by Iran.
