DUBAI (Haian Nayouf, AlArabiya.net)
A former Iranian diplomat said Iran recruits and trains extremists to form "sleeper cells" in various Arab countries, using them to pass weapons and intelligence information via "secret passageways."
Iran's former consul in Dubai, Adel Al-Asadi, said the Revolutionary Guard recruits extremists from different Arab countries, Shiites and Sunnis alike, via Iranian embassies and consulates.
"Then they are sent to Iran via a third country, and their passports don't get stamped. There, they receive extensive military and intelligence training."
Al-Asadi, 52, became Iran's Consul to Dubai in 2001 until he defected and sought political asylum in 2003.
Al-Asadi's comments coincided with a statement by a top general in Iran's Revolutionary Guard warning that rising tension with the United States could trigger suicide attacks in the Gulf.
Brigadier General Ali Fahdavi deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards' naval forces stressed the possibility of "martyrdom seeking," if necessary; specifically referring to the Basij militia, part of the Guard's military apparatus.
Al-Asadi traced the rise of the sleeper cells back to the Iranian Revolution: "The Revolutionary Guard had a special force called 'Liberation Movements,' which trained and funded pro-Revolution extremist groups in various Arab countries."
"This force was headed by Mahdi Hashemi who was later executed for uncovering the details of the secret meeting between Hashemi Rafsanjani and Reagan's envoy to Iran Robert McFarlane during the Iraq-Iran war in what later came to be called 'Iran Gate.'"
Asked how Iranian weapons reach some Arab countries, Al-Asadi replied: "There are secret passageways, some of them overlooking the Gulf, affiliated to the Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian intelligence."
Al-Asadi speculated that Hashemi Shahroudi would succeed Khameini as Iran's next Supreme Leader, head of the judicial system.
"Compared to the Supreme Leader, the roles of the president, the parliament, and the judiciary are marginal. He also controls foreign policy. Whoever thinks of contradicting him is considered an apostate," Al-Asadi said.
"However, opposition to Khameini's policies is on the rise, whether in the government or among the people. Some officials even call secretly for his resignation," Al-Asadi added. |
