Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, North Korea,
Cuba, and Sudan remain the seven governments that the US Secretary
of State has designated as state sponsors of international
terrorism. Iran continued to support numerous terrorist groups--
including the Lebanese Hizballah, HAMAS, and the Palestinian Islamic
Jihad (PIJ)--in their efforts to undermine the Middle East peace
process through terrorism. US Department of State: Patterns of Global
Terrorism: 1999.
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"The
insurgent objectives and policies of identifiable
nation-states such as Iran, Iraq, Syria and Libya are being
carried out by assembled teams of 'deniable' political and
religious fanatics. "Clark Staten, Executive Director of
the Chicago-based Emergency Response and Research Institute
(ERRI) |
"I think you have an 'atomic bomb' brewing between Ossama bin
Laden, Hezbollah and the Iranians. If these two huge forces are
married, either could set off the spark. Sooner or later you are
going to see more from these people." Kenneth Katzman, the
Terrorist Analyst for the US Congress
The Iranian - Hezbollah - Islamic Jihad
Connection |
The following is excerpted from "The Terrorist
Connection - Iran, The Islamic Jihad and Hamas," by Elie
Rekhess. Dr. Rekhess is a senior research fellow at the Moshe Dayan
Center for Middle Eastern & African Studies at Tel Aviv
University. This paper was jointly prepared with Meir Hatina, a
PH.D. candidate at Tel Aviv University's School of
History.
Following the end of the Iran-Iraq war,
Iran no longer restricted itself to the Shi'i domains: instead, it
opened itself up to a genuine effort to export its revolution to
Sunni-populated areas, such as Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and
the Palestinian area. The change in Iran's external policies
coincided with the eruption of the intifada which brought forth the
saliency of Islamic militancy in the form not only of the Palestine
Islamic Jihad movement but, more forcibly, through Hamas. Following
the deportation of the Islamic Jihad leadership to Lebanon in 1988,
Iranian involvement with the organization was significantly
enhanced.
Politically, the
Islamic Jihad's views on the Iran-Iraq war and the peace process
were and are a mirror reflection of Iran's views on these
issues.
The deportation in
1988 of Fathi Asquaqui (leader of the Islamic Jihad) and others to
Lebanon, and the transfer of the Palestine Islamic Jihad
headquarters to Syria thereafter marked a turning point in the
development of the Iranian-Islamic Jihad relationship. From this
point on direct contact was established between the Islamic Jihad
activists and their Iranian sponsors through Iranian embassies in
Beirut and Damascus, through the (Iranian) Revolutionary Guards
stationed in Lebanon, and through Hezbollah.
The State
Department's office of counter-terrorism in its report on
international terrorism clearly established that the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad receives funding from Iran. It is also known that
Hezbollah receives funding and arms from Iran on a regular basis.
Both of these groups are considered to be 'umbrella' organizations
of Iran, in that they act largely under the orders and support of
Iran. Arms transported to these groups are primarily funneled
through and with the cooperation of Syria.
Hezbollah and
Palestine Islamic Jihad also have an acknowledged base in an area of
South America called the 'tri-border area' where Brazil, Argentina
and Paraguay meet. Iranian secret services agents and embassies in
these three countries cooperate with these groups in the conduction
of terrorist activities in South America, and in providing Iranian
agents and other terrorists with false identity papers for travel to
and from the US and other countries.
For further
information on this subject refer to 'The Washington Institute for
Near East Policy' paper 'Iranian Links to International Terrorism'
by Hillary Maun: at http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/watch/Policywatch1998/296.htm
For further information refer
to:
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/03/01/timopnope01004.html?1427726
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