A video released by the CIA on Wednesday apparently shows bin Laden's son, Hamza, getting married in Iran. AFP
A video released by the CIA on Wednesday apparently shows bin Laden's son, Hamza, getting married in Iran. AFP

Al Qaeda's love affair with the ayatollahs of Iran: my enemy's enemy is my friend



At a time when the Middle East is gripped by the bitter rivalry between the traditions of Sunni and Shiite Islam, the revelation that a devoted Sunni terrorist like Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was liaising with the Shiite ayatollahs of Iran to plan attacks against the West is somewhat surprising.

The links between bin Laden and Iran have been revealed by the CIA’s decision to release nearly half a million files that were found on a computer belonging to the Al Qaeda mastermind. The computer was one of those seized during the daring raid on bin Laden’s Pakistan lair in Abbottabad in May 2011 by a team of US Navy Seals.

Apart from assassinating the mastermind of the September 11 attacks in 2001, the American special forces were also ordered to retrieve as much information as possible about bin Laden’s global terror network.

Al Qaeda under bin Laden had a reputation for meticulous record-keeping, and teams of CIA analysts were, therefore, able to retrieve a treasure trove of information when the captured computers were flown from bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan to Langley.

Consequently, they were able to make some remarkable discoveries about the extent and nature of bin Laden’s terror operation, of which one of the more startling revelations is the secret channel bin Laden maintained with Tehran from his Pakistani base.

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Read more on regional extremism

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Among the files retrieved is a 19-page document purportedly written by a senior member of the Al Qaeda hierarchy that details an arrangement between Iran and members of bin Laden’s terror network to strike American interests in “Saudi Arabia and the Gulf”.

According to the document, which was written by a senior Al Qaeda terrorist who is said to be “well-connected”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards helped to maintain the secret channel between Tehran and Abbottabad by making the travel arrangements and providing visas. But the author says that at some point, the relationship soured after Al Qaeda committed an act that the Iranians deemed a violation of the terms of the agreement, which resulted in a number of Al Qaeda operatives being detained by the Revolutionary Guards.

On one level, the revelation about bin Laden’s links with Iran is surprising because wherever you look around the Middle East today, it appears that Shiite Iran and its supporters are locked in a deadly battle against the Sunni world. In Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, Iran is seeking to assert itself at the expense of the Sunnis, whether it is waging war against ISIL fighters in Syria or excluding the powerful Sunni tribes in Iraq from the seat of power in Bahgdad.

And yet, on another level, there have always been concerns that Tehran is actively working with extremist Sunni groups that are deemed to share similar objectives. It is a case of the old Arabic saying, my enemy’s enemy is my friend.

For example, Gulf security officials have long been alarmed by the support Tehran has been providing to some of the more extreme Sunni groups fighting in Syria. Senior Gulf intelligence officials have told me that they have identified a number of Iranian bank accounts that have direct ties to Syrian-based terror groups.

This arrangement is similar to the one Iran has established with Hamas in Gaza. Although Hamas is a Sunni extremist organisation with close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, this has not prevented Iran and radical Shiite allies in the region, like Hizbollah, from actively supporting and arming the Palestinian movement on the grounds that they all share the same goal: attacking the state of Israel.

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Read more on Iran alliances

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Speculation about Iran’s links with Al Qaeda have surfaced previously, with reports that a number of senior al-Qaeda officials were given sanctuary in Iran following the US-led coalition’s initial military intervention in Afghanistan in 2001, including three of bin Laden’s sons. They were eventually released, and some of them are believed to have travelled to Yemen where they were involved in setting up the terrorist off-shoot Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Other evidence of Iran’s collaboration with Sunni terror groups relates to the support the Revolutionary Guards have given the Taliban during their fight against US coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The CIA’s revelations about Iran’s collusion with the organisation responsible for carrying out the worst terrorist attack on American soil will be deeply embarrassing for Tehran at a time when the Trump administration has already signalled it intends to take a tough line with the ayatollahs over their continued support for global terrorism.

During a recent conference hosted by the American think tank, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, which had exclusive access to the CIA files prior to their public release this week, the CIA director Mike Pompeo said Iran and Al Qaeda has a long history of building both “secret and open” ties.

The revelations could also prove embarrassing for Qatar at a time when the sheikhdom is under intense scrutiny for its support for Islamist terror groups and its ties with Iran. One of the main charges against Qatar is that it supports the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group which promotes a similar hardline ideology to Al Qaeda. At the same time Qatar has formed a close alliance with Iran.

Washington would certainly take a dim view if any evidence emerged to suggest Qatar was helping Shiite Iran to link up with extremist Sunni groups in the Middle East.

Con Coughlin is the Daily Telegraph’s defence and foreign affairs editor

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

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Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

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Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

Profile Periscope Media

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Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021

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Investors: Co-founders

The Uefa Awards winners

Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)

Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League

Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)

Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)

Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona

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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
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Sector: Sustainability
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SCHEDULE

Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
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Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
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14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi

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The Transfiguration

Director: Michael O’Shea

Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine

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Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

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Key facilities
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Sheikh Zayed's poem

When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.

Your love is ruling over my heart

Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it

Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home

You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness

Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins

You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge

You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm

Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you

You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it

Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by. 

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

How it works

A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank

Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night 

The charge is stored inside a battery

The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode

A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes 

This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode

When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again

The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge

No limit on how many times you can charge

 

PROFILE OF INVYGO

Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

THE BIO

Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old

Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai

Favourite Book: The Alchemist

Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail

Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna

Favourite cuisine: Italian food

Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman

 

 

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

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The line up

Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego  

Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh  

Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com