Al-Qaeda Accuses Iran of Cooperation with US

TEHRAN (FNA)- Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri has accused Iran of collaborating with Washington in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In a statement marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, al-Zawahiri summarized Al-Qaeda’s so-called state of jihad, or holy war, around the world on Monday.

Zawahri accusation came as neither Washington nor Israeli occupying regime has ruled out a military strike against Iran over its peaceful nuclear program and Tehran’s stance against the occupying regime and the US government.

The top terrorist claimed Tehran was “cooperating with the Americans in occupying Iraq and Afghanistan” and slammed Iran for recognizing the two democratic governments there.

This is while senior Washington officials had earlier claimed that “there have been secret contacts between the Iranian government and the leadership of al Qaeda”.

Zawahri also criticized Muslims for not calling for a jihad in Iraq against the “Crusader occupier” what it calls when referring to the US military.

“The guardian of Muslims in Tehran is cooperating with the Americans in occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and recognizes the two hireling governments there,” al-Zawahri said.

In contrast to reports that al-Qaeda has been weakened in Iraq, Monday’s message claimed that it was alive and well.

According to Al-Jazeera’s Web site, it showed an Iraqi scholar decrying the US-allied awakening councils that have turned against al-Qaeda as “treacherous” and “doomed.”

The tape also celebrated former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf’s resignation, saying he had “swallowed the fruit of his betrayal,” according to Al-Jazeera. The US-allied government in Kabul was also described as weaker.

In a harmonic tone with the Zionist occupying regime, Al-Zawahri also ridiculed Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah for describing their 2006 summer war with Israel as a victory.

He dismissed the country’s Sunni leaders in Beirut as “agents” of the United States.

Al-Qaeda senior member, Abu Yahia al-Libi, the movement’s commander in Afghanistan, also appeared praising the exploits of insurgents in Somalia, claiming their numbers were growing.