For several years, US counterterrorism experts believed Iran's terrorist apparatus had fallen dormant. Hezbollah and other groups backed by Iran had not attacked US targets since the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia killed 19 American servicemen in 1996. Iranian leaders had apparently decided that state sponsorship of anti-US terrorism was too risky at a time when the country was trying to build closer economic ties with Europe.
But US intelligence officials said that they believe that the onset of the Palestinian uprising known as the intifadah in September 2000 renewed the enthusiasm among Iran's hard-liners for terrorism.
Now, Iranian actions to destabilize the new interim government in Afghanistan, its willingness to assist al-Qaeda members and its fueling of the Palestinian uprising are prompting a reassessment in Washington, officials say. Earlier this year, Bush identified Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil."
The most visible evidence of the new strategic partnership between the Palestinian Authority and Iran came in the case of the Karine A, a ship laden with 50 tonnes of mortars, rockets, missiles and explosives from Iran that was seized by Israeli commandos in early January.
The Israelis have been unable to tie the shipment directly to Arafat, but Israeli officials said the involvement of senior Palestinian Authority officials and Arafat's well-known attention to financial details created a strong circumstantial case for his knowledge.
The ship contained an arsenal that could have escalated the war between Palestinians and Israelis.
The discovery sparked an intense debate within the Bush administration, US officials said. Secretary of Defense Donald Rums-feld and some others argued that relations should be broken off with Arafat, but Secretary of State Colin Powell contended that there was nothing to gain by cutting ties with the Palestinians.
In the end, Powell and Bush chastised Arafat publicly over the shipment, but the US did not end its relations with the Palestinian leader.
RSS