An Iranian general collaborated with al-Qaeda to arrange the transit through Iran of nine of the Sept. 11 hijackers, the Arabic-language newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported yesterday.
"A general in the apparatus [Revolutionary Guard] coordinated with the number two man in al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, to provide `safe passage' to around nine of those who carried out the attacks," the London-based paper said.
It cited as its source an official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and said al-Zawahri, who requested the help, had links with the general going back to the early 1990s.
Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh challenged the newspaper to back up its story.
"If they have concrete proof they should hand it over to the United Nations, and if they really trust their sources they should let us know too," he told a weekly news conference when asked about the report.
A US bipartisan commission is expected to say in a report this week on the Sept. 11 attacks that some of the hijackers passed through Iran on their way to the US, but the CIA's acting director has said there is no evidence of official Iranian complicity.
Iran acknowledged that some of the 19 attackers may have passed through illegally, but said it had since tightened border controls. It said any attempts to tie the country to Osama bin Laden's group were part of US election-year propaganda.
The disclosure has again raised the question in the US of whether the George W. Bush administration, facing a re-election contest in November, has focused too much on Iraq.
Some 3,000 people died when suicide hijackers flew airliners into US landmarks. The attacks were blamed on al-Qaeda, which was then based in Afghanistan.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Iran had ordered its border guards not to stamp the passports of Saudi al-Qaeda members moving through Iran after training in Afghanistan.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source