The discussion about Iran’s relationship with Al-Qaeda holds no novelty except for what the “Maaref” newspaper revealed some time ago about Iran smuggling a shipment of enriched uranium to the Houthi militia in Yemen, parts of which fell into the hands of Al-Qaeda!
Here, we must pause at two important points related to the published news. Firstly, Iran’s direct support for the Houthi militia with uranium threatens security and peace inside Yemen and the entire region. Secondly, the indirect support for the Al-Qaeda organization.
The Houthis, a rebellious movement resorting to violence since its inception, receiving such materials is consistent with Tehran’s support for some armed militias in the Arab region to create chaos that Tehran benefits from.
Iran’s aim behind supporting the Houthis with this shipment is to deliver part of it, according to “Maaref”, to the Al-Qaeda organization.
This is new evidence of Iran’s threat to peace in the Middle East and its growing danger to the security of its neighbors, in addition to its support for extremist religious organizations, posing a threat to global security, necessitating confronting and ultimately eliminating this danger.
It can be said that Iran’s relationship with terrorism is ingrained. It sees its political interest in supporting violent groups and organizations, even if their political agenda seems contrary to its direction. It uses these organizations and then turns against them, besides the superficial and symbolic disputes that do not reflect the true nature of the strong relationship between them.
Iran excels in creating allies, even if they are somewhat different from itself. It also excels in creating enemies. It has no problem joining hands with adversaries to achieve its goals of creating hotbeds of violence and tension in the Arab region to threaten the security of all neighbors!
This might be the reason for its support for Al-Qaeda and ISIS, despite their Sunni background. There are commonalities between them and the most extreme Sunni organizations that align with Iran’s goals of chaos, and Iran has no qualms about turning against them later to achieve its own project.
Here lies Iran’s danger, as it does not hesitate to support terrorism anywhere in the world. If the international community is serious about combating this terrorism, it must first confront the states supporting it, as there is no significance in confronting it as long as it turns a blind eye to the states providing it with direct and indirect support, and Iran is foremost among these states and the most dangerous.
Iran did not deny what was published by the international press at the time regarding the smuggling of a uranium shipment to the Houthi movement and will not deny it in the future, as it still openly boasts about its relationship with Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and all violent and extremist organizations. Perhaps these organizations do not see the need to announce their commonalities with Khomeini’s Iran; each of them seeks an Islamic revolution in the region through chaos. Al-Qaeda and ISIS accuse each other of strong and extensive secret relations.
This might be the first time Iran is supplying the Houthi movement with this type of weapon, unlike the military equipment, including ballistic missiles and drones.
Talking about supplying the Houthi movement with uranium should prompt the international community to fulfill its role in confronting Iran and preventing it from possessing nuclear weapons. It should also stand against coup movements and armed militias supported by Iran, such as the Houthi movement. What is happening against Al-Qaeda by the international community should also happen against this movement.
Iran continues to support the Houthi movement amid international silence, and the international community remains inadequate in confronting this movement or exerting pressure on it or at least in severing its ties with destabilizing Iran. Here lies the importance of confronting and reducing the danger of Iran’s destabilizing support for security in the region and the world.
