Al Qaeda terrorists being held by Iran

Iran said yesterday it is holding senior al Qaeda terrorists, and the White House told Tehran to turn them over to the United States.

Iranian Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi told reporters in Tehran that senior members of the terrorist group are in custody. He did not identify them by name.

“A large number of small- and big-time elements of al Qaeda are in our custody,” Mr. Yunesi told the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mussavi Lari, also quoted by the IRNA, said yesterday that Iran would soon extradite some al Qaeda members to their native countries. Others will be tried in Iran, he said.

The comments by the Iranian government officials about the al Qaeda network followed statements by President Bush on Monday that Iran and Syria are backing terrorists.

“Today, Syria and Iran continue to harbor and assist terrorists,” Mr. Bush said. “This behavior is completely unacceptable, and states that support terror will be held accountable.”

At the White House, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said yesterday the statements bolster recent assertions by senior U.S. officials that Iran had become a safe haven for the terrorist group, which has been blamed for the September 11 attacks on America.

Mr. McClellan said he could not confirm the accuracy of the Iranian officials’ statements or what is meant by custody of the al Qaeda terrorists.

“The statements would appear to confirm what we and others believe to be a significant al Qaeda presence in Iran, to include members of its senior leadership,” he said.

“These terrorists, we’ve made very clear, must be brought to justice,” he noted. “We, along with a number of our allies, have called on Iran to turn these terrorists over to the United States or to their countries of origin so that they will face justice for their terrorist activities.”

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told reporters yesterday that the Iranian officials’ comments were significant and an interesting development because the Iranians “have now acknowledged rather publicly the presence and detention of al Qaeda members.”

“And how they dispose of these individuals and what jurisdictions they turn them over to is something that remains to be seen,” Mr. Powell said after meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. “But I think it is an interesting development, that’s how I would characterize it.”

A senior U.S. official said yesterday that the United States has believed for some time that senior al Qaeda terrorists have been hiding in Iran.

The Iranian government has given conflicting and misleading explanations for the terrorists’ presence in that country, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

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