Iran negotiating Al Qaeda leaders’ extradition: envoys
TEHRAN, June 28: Iran has been locked in highly secretive and complex extradition talks with Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over detainees it holds who are widely believed to be top members of the Al Qaeda network, diplomatic sources said.
According to the well-placed sources, Tehran could deal the biggest blow to the network since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan by handing over some of Osama bin Laden’s closest aides.
But government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said on Saturday many of the detainees were still being identified, adding that is was unlikely their names would ever be officially released.
“We have not been able to identify all Al Qaeda members, and even if we did there is no reason for us to give their names to the press. This is a security issue, and this is how security apparatuses work,” he said.
Iran has also pointed to its extradition of some 500 fugitives from Afghanistan in the wake of the US ouster of the Taliban, a figure that has been independently confirmed by a variety of well-placed sources.
But diplomats here said they have strong reason to believe that three top Al Qaeda fugitives have been detained in Iran.
One is Egyptian-born Saif al-Adel, thought to have taken over as Al Qaeda’s number three from military operations chief Mohammad Atef, who was believed killed in Afghanistan in late 2001.
The second is Saad bin Laden, one of Osama’s eldest sons. In his early 20s, he is thought to have taken a senior position in the running of the network.
The third believed to be in Iranian custody is Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti-born Al Qaeda spokesman.
“There is firm reason to believe that Iran is holding some senior Al Qaeda (militants),” a Tehran-based diplomat said. “But the negotiations to hand them over are very delicate, so for the moment there has been no official word on who they are.”
Diplomats said negotiations to extradite the detainees have been running for several weeks but were hitting snags, given that Iran has only low-level diplomatic ties with Egypt.
Furthermore, diplomats point out that Osama bin Laden’s son has been stripped of his Saudi nationality, while Abu Ghaith has been stripped of his Kuwaiti nationality.
Those problems were believed to have dominated discussions during recent flying visits by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal and Kuwaiti Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Khaled al Sabah, although it remains unclear if any extradition deal has yet been worked out.—AFP
