18 - 24 October 2001
Issue No.556
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 18 - 24 October 2001 Issue No.556 |
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Fears mount as US widens net
The new US most-wanted list hits several raw nerves, Azadeh Moaveni, in Doha, writes
When the United States unveiled its list of 22 "most-wanted terrorists," alarm bells went off in Tehran. The US administration had said it would pursue terrorists and organisations with a "global reach" in the second stage of its war on terrorism.Iranian officials had initially breathed a sigh of relief after 11 September, believing that Iran's lack of involvement in the attacks would spare them as Washington cast its policy net ever farther.
But the FBI list suggests their confidence may have been premature. If the composition of the list is anything to go by, Washington is indeed setting its sights on Iran, since as many as seven of the terrorists are widely believed to be in the country.
The publication of the list provoked anxiety in Lebanon as well. Between them, Iran and Lebanon are widely believed to shelter many of the terrorists active in Lebanon during the 1980s, harking back to the days of Carlos the Jackal. The appearance of one man in particular on the list -- Emad Mughniyeh, former head of international operations for Lebanese Hizbullah -- has produced quiet but serious diplomatic unease in the region.
Mughniyeh is wanted for a litany of attacks against US interests: the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847, the 1982 bombing of the US marine barracks in Beirut and the kidnapping of American and Western nationals in Lebanon in the late 1980s. Iran's intelligence apparatus, operating through the Revolutionary Guards, was the invisible hand directing Hizbullah and operatives like Mughniyeh during this era.
In what could be a dangerous twist for both countries, the Saudi- based newspaper Al-Sharq Al- Awsat last week reported that Mughniyeh had recently left Iran voluntarily, because his safety could no longer be guaranteed.
Also, after President Mohamed Khatami's tentative commitment of Iranian participation in a global effort against terrorism, Mughniyeh's presence, said to be in the religious city of Qom, would no longer be in Iran's interests. But Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al- Hariri also told the newspaper that "[none] of the wanted are on Lebanese land." In a perplexing counter-point, Iranian deputy foreign minister Javad Zarif said in Doha last week that Mughniyeh was in Lebanon.
Beyond Mughniyeh, the naming of four men indicted in the US for their alleged role in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers also signalled that the policy insight behind the list implicated Iran. The bombing in Saudi Arabia killed 19 US servicemen and an American investigation concluded that evidence pointed to Iran's involvement. Although the United States took no action based on its findings, leaving the conventional wisdom in Washington convinced of Iranian culpability, the jury is still out in the region.
"There's no mainstream Arab consensus on this," said an Arab foreign minister in Doha. Saudi Arabia's alleged foot-dragging in the investigation has raised questions about the kindgom's shielding of Iran. But the point stands that as Washington expands its efforts in the region to nab its 22 most-wanted, it has made little effort to convince its allies of the guilt of its targets.
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