Washington // The CIA has named the hardline chief of its hunt for Osama bin Laden and head of its lethal drone programme to lead Iran operations, the New York Times reported Friday.
The choice of Michael D'Andrea to run the Central Intelligence Agency's spying on Iran is the latest sign of US president Donald Trump's tougher stance against the Islamic republic, the Times said, quoting intelligence community sources.
Although officially under cover and not acknowledged by the CIA, Mr D’Andrea, a convert to Islam who is around 60 years old, has been a key figure in the fight against extremist groups.
He was chief of the agency’s counter-terrorism centre during the 2000s and oversaw the hunt for bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011. He also led the Obama administration’s “targeted killing” programme using drones against militants, mainly in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The choice of Mr D’Andrea to run the CIA’s Iran operations was made by Mike Pompeo. As a Republican congressman, he took a hard line against Iran and the Iran nuclear deal before Mr Trump appointed him to be CIA director in January.
Mr Pompeo and Mr D’Andrea could be crucial to the administration attempts to ensure Iran is sticking to its commitments under the nuclear deal, or find violations that would support Mr Trump’s campaign pledge to tear up the agreement.
The CIA declined to comment on the Times report.
* Agence France-Presse
