Iran says US created al-Qaeda, Daesh, rejects ‘absurd' claim

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has categorically dismissed claims made by the US administration about the presence of a leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist group in Iran, saying linking the terror outfit to Iran is “absurd” as those who created al-Qaeda and Daesh are to blame for the spread of terrorism across the world.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remark in a post on his Twitter account on Thursday after US State Department spokesman Ned Price claimed that Seif al-Adel, the new leader of al-Qaeda, was based in Iran, without providing any evidence to substantiate the allegation.

“I advise White House to stop the failed Iranophobia game. Linking Al-Qaeda to Iran is patently absurd and baseless. Those who created Al-Qaeda and DAESH must be held accountable for spreading terrorism worldwide. Don't give false address!” the top Iranian diplomat noted.

Price accused Iran at a press briefing on Wednesday of “offering safe haven to al-Qaeda,” and providing “support for terrorism.”

Asked by a reporter what the United States would do if Adel was in Iran, the US State Department spokesman said Washington was determined not to allow threats to emerge and would closely coordinate with its European allies to confront “all the challenges Iran poses.”

The US claim comes as Iran, which is one of the biggest victims of terrorism, has been lauded as one of the pioneers in the fight against terrorism in the West Asia region.

Washington, as the main supporter of anti-Iran terrorism, has in numerous reports been proved to have created, trained and supported Daesh and other terror outfits to wreak havoc across the oil-rich region to plunder its resources.

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‘Misinformation hinders efforts to combat terrorism’

Meanwhile, Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York also rejected Price’s claim about the presence of the al-Qaeda leader in the country, saying the propagation of such misinformation could potentially hinder efforts to combat terrorism.

“The global network of al-Qaeda was dismantled after the death of Osama Bin Laden and the organization is no longer in existence but its extremist ideology still persists. The emergence of ISIS (Daesh) has taken the place of Al-Qaeda and has given rise to a new form of terrorism,” the mission tweeted, referring to the terrorist group’s founder who was killed in 2011.

“It is worth noting that the address for the so-called newly appointed Al-Qaeda leader is incorrect. This misinformation could potentially hinder efforts to combat terrorism,” it added.

The administration of US President Joe Biden claimed in a report last August that al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, had been killed in a CIA drone strike on a residential area in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul.

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Zawahiri, one of the world's most wanted terrorists and suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, was an Egyptian surgeon who grew up in Cairo and later moved to Europe before joining bin Laden in Sudan or Afghanistan and turning into an extremist.

The 71-year-old, who had been on the run for 20 years since the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, had a $25 million US bounty on his head.

Al-Qaeda has not formally named a successor for Zawahiri.

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