|By Alaa Alghamdi| Judicial rulings have shown that the calamitous and tragic events of September 11 were borne out of a relationship between Iran and Hezbollah and al-Qaeda. Will the coming days reveal a similar relationship with Daesh too?
Hezbollah is widely known for its support of terrorism, for inciting sectarian strife in the Arab countries, and for the cooperation of its members with drug dealers in Europe, North and South America, Africa, as a means to finance multiple activities, ease the burden on the Iranian treasury offering them substantial financial support, in addition to the logistical and intelligence support to the military that they already provide.
But what about the relationship that Iran and Hezbollah have with al-Qaeda? Did they have a role to play in the implementation of the September 11 attacks in 2001? Some journalists and some of the families of the victims of those attacks accused Saudi Arabia of supporting al-Qaeda, based on the fact that 15 out of the 19 who carried out the terrorist attacks were found to hold Saudi passports. But those attempts to smear the Kingdom failed, with an American judge dropping any charges levied at the Kingdom.
However, this month US courts have proved that there is arelationship with Iran and Hezbollah, tying them alongside al-Qaida, which began in the nineties and continued at least until the beginning of the millennium. On March 9, 2016, a federal court in New York fined Iran $10.5 billion for the country’s involvement in the September 11, 2001 attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the World Trade Center in New York. The court has allocated $7.5 billion to the families of the victims, alongside $3 billion to insurance companies.
After nearly 15 years of trials, the Federal Court found that Iran and Hezbollah forwarded ‘material support directly’ to al-Qaeda in order to help them to carry out the heinous attacks. They bear the legal responsibility for the damage done to hundreds of families, including the families of the victims of the World Trade Center and the pilots of the aircraft used by the terrorists in the attack.
The court condemned Iran in the ruling, which is located in a 53-page document. The report names Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Khatami
Among the evidence mentioned by report were the accounts of witnesses who gave their testimony under oath. Three were involved in preparing the report of the Commission, two former American intelligence officers, journalists, and an expert on Iranian affairs and terrorism. There were also three former employees of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian Ministry of intelligence and Security.
Some of means of support provided by Iran to Al-Qaidaincluded the smuggling of fighters, aiding their transition from Iran to training camps in Afghanistan, hiding their visits to Iran or Afghanistan itself, and facilitating their access to visas to the United States. After the 9/11 attack – according to the court’s ruling – Iran helped Al-Qaida leaders and members to escape from Afghanistan and gave them a safe haven in Iran to avoid falling into the hands of the coalition forces in Afghanistan.
In his testimony before the court, former employee of the Revolutionary Guards Abdal Kasem Mesbahi
The court saw internal official notes describing the knowledge of senior Iranian officials to those plans, and their emphasis on secrecy in dealing with al-Qaeda. These notes confirmed the communication between Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah leader, and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second in command in Al-Qaeda. There were also documents from the German Public Prosecutor submitted to the court that the attack coordinator Ramzi Binal
Iran, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda began forming their alliance in the early nineties, bypassing their differences and sectarianism. Iran and Hezbollah trained al-Qaeda in the use of explosives, especially those dedicated to the destruction of large buildings. This nefarious alliance has succeeded in implementing many large operations, such as the attack on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the attack on the US warship (USS Cole) among others.
The federal court ruling in this case comes after several cases in which US courts have ruled against Iran for its involvement in supporting terrorism. This includes another federal court ruling in 2014 which fined Iran $2.65 billion forcompensa
Some American official circles sometimes try to influence the courts for consideration in such cases because it may impede the process of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue, however, the courts have continued to work and sentenced for prosecutors to obtain compensation from frozen Iranian funds in US banks.
The present judicial ruling demonstrates