Saeed Khatibzadeh, a foreign ministry spokesperson, denied “any presence of al-Qaeda” members in Iran. And he warned American media outlets “not to fall for the trap of Hollywood scenarios fed to them by American and Zionist officials,” according to the ministry’s website.
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Al-Masri, who was about 58, was one of al-Qaeda’s founding leaders and was thought to be first in line to lead the organisation after its current leader, Ayman al-Zawahri. The FBI had offered a $US10 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Al-Masri’s presence in Iran was surprising given that Iran and al-Qaeda are bitter enemies. US intelligence officials said al-Masri had been in Iran’s “custody” since 2003, but that he had been living freely in Tehran since at least 2015.
In its statement Saturday, Iran’s foreign ministry accused the US and Israel of leaking false information to the news media “so they don’t have to take responsibility for the murderous actions of this terrorist group and other groups”.
