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The alleged story has other attractive claims, such as Iranian involvement in the 9/11 attacks.
Unconfirmed reports of a primary explosion at an Iranian nuclear plant last week hint that its origins can be traced back to two former Iranian intelligence officials who defected to the West, at least one of whom has been described as a “serial manufacturer” through senior Iranian intelligence officials. Central Intelligence Agency.
Western media have widely disseminated unconfirmed reports that a major explosion occurred last week in Iran’s underground bunker at Fordow, near the religious city of Qom, which would likely have trapped more than 200 more people and destroyed much of the internal nuclear apparatus. .
Israel’s Jerusalem Post attributed the rumors to Reza Kahlili, who told the newspaper in a separate interview that the alleged explosion was “the biggest case of sabotage in decades. “
Kahlili is the pseudonym of an individual who allegedly worked as a double agent for the CIA in the 1980s, when Kahlili was a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Kahlili first reported the explosion in a World News Daily article in which he cited as his only source Hamid Reza Zakeri, alias of a former member of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) who defected to the West in 2001, who is Kahili’s representative. The only source for this story cited alleged contacts he has at the highest level in Iran.
Among Zakeri’s broader claims is that the Islamic Republic of Iran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was actively involved in al Qaeda’s (AQ) plans for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U. S. soil.
According to reports through Kenneth R. Timmerman – co-founder and executive director of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran and a prominent Zakeri supporter – Zakeri claimed to have overseen two meetings between senior Iranian and Al-Qaeda officials. Al Qaeda in the months leading up to the 9/11 attack.
One such meeting, which Zakeri claims to have overseen, concerned Anwar al-Zawahiri, then number two and now leader of al Qaeda, who traveled to Iran in January 2001 with 23 other al Qaeda members, 12 of whom remained in Iran after Zakeri also claimed that Osama bin Laden’s eldest son was seen at a follow-up assembly. Saad bin Laden, arrived in Iran before 9/11 (after 9/11, he was arrested via Iran, but eventually fled to Pakistan, where he was apprehended). killed by a U. S. drone strike in 2009). During the three-week meeting that took place four months before 9/11, Zakeri says the younger bin Laden met with almost every major unelected Iranian leader, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former head of the judiciary. Mohammad Yazdi, then head of the judiciary Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, and Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, then head of the Iranian Assembly of Experts.
While noting that many 9/11 operatives transited through Iran on their way to Afghanistan in the years leading up to the attacks, the U. S. government-appointed 9/11 Commission concluded that “we discovered no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah were aware of the lifestyles of the 9/11 attacks. ” planning for what would later become the 9/11 attack. “
Zakeri claims to have alerted the U. S. embassy in Baku to the upcoming 9/11 attacks in the summer before they occurred.
Although Zakeri has submitted written documents about the Iran-AQ meetings, the U. S. government is still not convinced of its credibility, according to Zimmerguy. In his book, Zimmerguy reports that when he asked a CIA intelligence officer about Zakeri, the CIA responded, “This guy is a serial builder. Another senior U. S. official, Zimmerguy, when asked about Zakeri’s alleged precaution in Baku, replied: “We are not aware of such a claim. And he’s a builder of monumental proportions.
Zakeri didn’t have much luck convincing Germany’s legal or intelligence authorities of his authenticity either. In 2004, Zakeri insisted on testifying against Abdelghani Mzoudi, a Moroccan who was a former roommate of the lead 9/11 hijacker, Mohamed Atta and was being charged in Germany with providing material aid to the 9/11 hijackers. Zakeri claimed that Mzoudi was an integral part of the 9/11 plot and had spent three months in Iran “learning to master codes,” without explaining what relevance this had to the 9/11 plot. During his testimony at the trial Zakeri readily admitted that he had never seen or spoken with Mzoudi before but said he knew of his involvement in 9/11 through a high-level contact in Iran that he remained in touch with.
In reporting on Zakeri’s testimony, Reuters noted “It was not clear that his sometimes rambling testimony had helped the prosecution case. ‘It’s difficult to follow you, Mr. Zakeri,’” the Judge presiding over the case said during the testimony according to Reuters. Similarly, Deutsche Welle reported that Zakeria’s “answers to most questions were evasive and rambling,” the Judge had to repeatedly ask him to repeat himself, and “at one point after several contradictions and incomprehensible answers, [Judge] Rühle said: ‘I don’t know if you are consciously being unclear.’”
The approval opinion also asked Germany’s foreign intelligence to assess Zakeri’s credibility. The reaction to the approval opinion stated, in part: “The price of your testimony is very low. A lot of things are unverifiable and speculative. “
But Zakeri did make clear in his testimony that his sources told him senior AQ and Iranian officials had met a month before the trial and decided to assassinate the defendant, Mr. Mzoudi, should he be acquitted of these charges in order to hide Iranian involvement in 9/11.
“They came to the conclusion that Mzoudi would be killed by a letter bomb sent from Düsseldorf or Vienna, or that, if he was deported, then they could arrest him,” Zakerit testified.
The judgment ultimately ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict M. Mzoudi, who was released via Germany in January 2004. To date, AQ and Iran have not carried out their so-called plan.
The White House said reports of an explosion at the Fordow nuclear plant “are credible. ” On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors the plant, also said it could verify an explosion.
Israeli officials, named or anonymous, disagreed, with some saying they may not have verified the report yet and that, if true, it is a “blessing,” while other anonymous Israeli intelligence officials reportedly said the explosion did indeed take place.
For its part, Iran continues to deny that there was an explosion at the Fordow nuclear power plant.
Despite this lingering skepticism, Reza Khalili has written an article on weapons of mass destruction that marvels at how history is “exploding around the world” and how it is “exploding Iran’s nuclear program. “
Despite Zakeri’s questionable record and Khalili’s prejudices, the story was widely reported in Western media and elsewhere. Numerous sources, such as Reuters – which said it might simply not verify the reports – cited the media as the source of the rumour but did not specify which ones.
In the run-up to the Iraq War in 2003, New York Times reporter Judith Miller (among others) published a host of shocking stories about Saddam Hussein’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction programs, reports which Bush administration officials regularly cited in the run-up to the war as proof that Saddam was seeking nuclear weapons and possessed WMDs. Many of these reports turned out to be untrue and the New York Times subsequently admitted that Miller’s heavy reliance on Iraqi defectors was a major reason for the false reporting.
Bush’s own leadership largely based its case against Saddam Hussein on an Iraqi defector nicknamed Curveball who claimed to have worked on a weapons of mass destruction program while a member of Saddam’s regime. This turned out to be false, as Curveball admitted in 2011, stating that he made up this story because “I had a challenge with Saddam’s regime. I wanted to get rid of him and now I had that opportunity. “
Curveball also said he doesn’t make up the story despite the more than 100,000 Iraqis who died as a result.
“Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m not. They [the Bush administration] gave me this possibility. I had the ability to create anything to overthrow the regime. My kids and I are proud of it. “
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Unconfirmed reports of a giant explosion at an Iranian nuclear plant last week hint at its origins in two former Iranian intelligence officials who defected to the West, at least one of whom has been described as a “mass manufacturer” through senior Iranian intelligence officials. U. S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Western media have widely disseminated unconfirmed reports that a major explosion occurred last week in Iran’s underground bunker at Fordow, near the religious city of Qom, which would likely have trapped more than 200 more people and destroyed much of the internal nuclear apparatus. .
Israel’s Jerusalem Post attributed the rumors to Reza Kahlili, who told the newspaper in a separate interview that the alleged explosion was “the biggest case of sabotage in decades. “
Kahlili is the pseudonym of an individual who allegedly worked as a double agent for the CIA in the 1980s, when Kahlili was a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Kahlili first reported the blast in a story on World News Daily in which he cited as his sole source, Hamid Reza Zakeri, another pseudonym for a former member in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security(MOIS) who defected to the West in 2001. Zakeri, who is Kahili’s sole source for the story, in turn cited supposed contacts he has at the highest levels in Iran.
Among Zakeri’s broader claims is that the Islamic Republic of Iran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was actively involved in al Qaeda’s (AQ) plans for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U. S. soil.
According to reports from Kenneth R. Timmerman – co-founder and executive director of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran and a prominent Zakeri supporter – Zakeri claimed to have overseen two meetings between senior Iranian and al-Qaeda officials in the months leading up to the September 11 attack.
One such meeting, which Zakeri claims to have overseen, concerned Anwar al-Zawahiri, then number two and now leader of al Qaeda, who traveled to Iran in January 2001 with 23 other al Qaeda members, 12 of whom remained in Iran after Zakeri also claimed that Osama bin Laden’s eldest son was seen at a follow-up assembly. Saad bin Laden, arrived in Iran before 9/11 (after 9/11, he was arrested via Iran, but eventually fled to Pakistan, where he was apprehended). killed by a U. S. drone strike in 2009). During the three-week meeting that took place four months before 9/11, Zakeri says the younger bin Laden met with almost every major unelected Iranian leader, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former head of the judiciary. Mohammad Yazdi, then head of the judiciary Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, and Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, then head of the Iranian Assembly of Experts.
While noting that many of the 9/11 operatives transited Iran on their way to Afghanistan in the years prior to the attacks, the U.S. government-appointed 9/11 Commission concluded that, “we have found no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah was aware of the planning for what later became the 9/11 attack.”
Zakeri claims to have alerted the U. S. embassy in Baku to the upcoming 9/11 attacks in the summer before they occurred.
Despite Zakeri presenting written documentation of the Iran-AQ meetings, the U.S. government remained unconvinced of his credibility, according to Zimmerman. In his book, Zimmerman reports that when he asked a CIA intelligence officer about Zakeri she had told him, “This man is a serial fabricator.” Another senior U.S. official Zimmerman asked about Zakeri’s supposed warning in Baku told him, “We have no record that he made any such claim. And he is a fabricator of monumental proportions.”
Zakeri also had no luck convincing the judicial government or the German intelligence services of his authenticity. In 2004, Zakeri insisted on testifying against Abdelghani Mzoudi, a Moroccan who was a roommate of the main 9/11 hijacker, Mohamed Atta, and who was accused by Germany of offering covert help to the 9/11 hijackers. Zakeri claimed that Mzoudi was an integral component of the 9/11 plot and that he spent three months in Iran “learning to master the codes,” without explaining how this was applicable to the 9/11 plot. During his testimony at the trial, Zakeri readily admitted that he had never noticed or spoken to Mzoudi before, but said he was aware of his involvement in 9/11 through a high-level contact in Iran with whom he maintained his specialization. in touch.
Reporting on Zakeri’s testimony, Reuters noted, “It is not transparent that his sometimes rambling testimony helped the prosecution. “In Reuters. De similar testimony, Deutsche Welle reported that “Zakeria’s answers to most of the questions were evasive and rambling,” the evaluator had to continually ask him to repeat the same thing, and “at one point, after several contradictions and incomprehensible answers, [Judge] Rühle said, “I don’t know if you are not consciously transparent. “
The approval opinion also asked Germany’s foreign intelligence to assess Zakeri’s credibility. The reaction to the approval opinion stated, in part: “The price of your testimony is very low. A lot of things are unverifiable and speculative. “
But Zakeri did make clear in his testimony that his sources told him senior AQ and Iranian officials had met a month before the trial and decided to assassinate the defendant, Mr. Mzoudi, should he be acquitted of these charges in order to hide Iranian involvement in 9/11.
“They came to the conclusion that Mzoudi would be killed by a letter bomb sent from Düsseldorf or Vienna, or that, if he was deported, then they could arrest him,” Zakerit testified.
The judgment ultimately ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict M. Mzoudi, who was released via Germany in January 2004. To date, AQ and Iran have not carried out their so-called plan.
The White House said that the reports about an explosion at the Fordow nuclear plant “were not credible.” On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors the plant, also said it could not confirm an explosion.
Israeli officials, both named and unnamed, differed with some saying that they couldn’t confirm the report but if it was true it was a “blessing,” while other unnamed Israeli intelligence officials were reported as saying the explosion did indeed occur.
For its part, Iran continues to deny that there was an explosion at the Fordow nuclear power plant.
Despite this lingering skepticism, Reza Khalili has written an article on weapons of mass destruction that marvels at how history is “exploding around the world” and how it is “exploding Iran’s nuclear program. “
Despite Zakeri’s questionable record and Khalili’s prejudices, the story was widely reported in Western media and elsewhere. Numerous sources, such as Reuters – which said it might simply not verify the reports – cited the media as the source of the rumour but did not specify which ones.
In the run-up to the Iraq war in 2003, New York Times reporter Judith Miller (among others) published a series of shocking stories about Saddam Hussein’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction programs, reports that Bush administration officials cite in the war. preparation as proof that Saddam sought nuclear weapons and possessed weapons of mass destruction. Much of this data turned out to be false, and the New York Times later admitted that Miller’s heavy reliance on Iraqi defectors was one of the main reasons for the false data. .
Bush’s own leadership largely based its case against Saddam Hussein on an Iraqi defector nicknamed Curveball who claimed to have worked on a weapons of mass destruction program while a member of Saddam’s regime. This turned out to be false, as Curveball admitted in 2011, stating that he made up this story because “I had a challenge with Saddam’s regime. I wanted to get rid of it and now I had that chance. “
Curveball also said he did not make up the story despite the more than 100,000 Iraqis who died because of it.
“Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m not. They [the Bush administration] gave me that opportunity. I’m lucky enough to come up with anything to overthrow the regime. My kids and I are proud of it. “
Unconfirmed reports of a primary explosion at an Iranian nuclear plant last week hint that its origins can be traced back to two former Iranian intelligence officials who defected to the West, at least one of whom has been described as a “serial manufacturer” through senior Iranian intelligence officials. Central Intelligence Agency.
Western media have widely disseminated unconfirmed reports that a major explosion occurred last week in Iran’s underground bunker at Fordow, near the religious city of Qom, which would likely have trapped more than 200 more people and destroyed much of the internal nuclear apparatus. .
What about Iran’s nuclear program? The diplomat speaks with Matthew Kroenig, member of the CFR.