House of Commons - Foreign Affairs

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Written Evidence

Written evidence submitted by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Community Security Trust

INTRODUCTION

Since the Islamic revolition in 1979 Iran has used terrorism to further its strategic goals to a greater extent than other Middle East states.

The US State Department has consistently noted that Iran is the most active state sponsor of terrorism, that it plans and supports acts, and that it exhorts a variety of groups to use terrorism in pursuit of their goals. [60]

It has further noted that Iran has refused to name, or bring to justice, the senior al Qaeda members it detained in 2003, that it does nothing to control the activities of other al Qaeda members who fled there following the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and that senior Iraqi Interim Government and Coalition officials have publicly expressed concern over Iranian interference in Iraq. [61]

It should also be noted that Iran has a history of assassinating its own nationals living in exile abroad, or those deemed a threat to the regime, as demonstrated most famously by a the murder of four Kurdish exiles in the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin in 1992. A German court subsequently found that Iran's political leadership had ordered the killing.

Iran offers training, material and finance to to a range of terrorist groups that seek to confront western interests and the State of Israel, and which promotes its own regional aspirations. This aid is often provided covertly, but not always so.

In particular Iran has developed the use of suicide terrorism, and exported the idealogy and technical know-how to others. Among the beneficiaries of Iranian capabilities in this field have been Hizbollah, Al Qaeda and Palestinian terrorist groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. [62]

Despite the Shi'a/Sunni religio-political schism, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini's concept of an Islamic state governed by Sharia stands as a beacon and a desirable goal for Sunni Islamists. Those influenced by the Salafi idealogy that guides the global jihad movement have been reading to co-operate across this divide and Abu Musab al Zarawi's effective declaration of war against Iraqi Shi'as has been criticised by religious leaders and other members of the global jihad movement, including Ayman Al Zawahiri, the second in command of Al Qaeda, and its main ideologue. [63]

Indeed Iran and Iraq have recently signed a number of far-reaching agreements covering security, energy and trade.

A recent Iranian threat to put its "martyrdom seeking forces" (ie, suicide terrorists) on full alert is a matter of grave concern. [64]

ASSISTANCE TO TERRORIST GROUPS

Palestinian groups have received substantial Iranian aid. The purpose of this assistance has been aimed at frustrating peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. It has also been used against Jewish communities outside the region.

In March 1992, members of Turkish Hizbollah carried out a hand grenade attack against an Istanbul synagogue, and in January 1993 members of the Persevering Works of Islam group (also referred to as the Islamic Movement Organisation) attempted to assassinate Turkish Jewish community leader, Jacques Kimchi. In both instances the Turkish authorities claimed the terrorists were trained and armed by Iran. [65]

There is now conclusive evidence that Iran was the inspiration and motivation for the terrorist attacks on the Israel embassy in March 1992 and the AMIA Jewish communmity building July 1994, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. [66]

During 2002 Iran sent a large consignment of arms on the cargo ship the Karine A, in breach of international agreements to the Palestinian National Authority that were intercepted by the Israeli navy.

The Iranian press and those sympathetic to it regularly publish threats against Jewish communities. For example on 28 November 2002, the government-linked paper, Kayhan, stated that Muslims must threaten the lives of "Zionists" around the world. [67]

SUICIDE BOMBERS' PROGRAMME

The Iranian ISNA website announced on 14 November 2005 that a conference was to be held the following day at the Shahrud University of Technology for "martyrdom seekers". According to the report the conference was to be held by the university's student Basij (a paramilitary organisation commanded by Revoluntionary Guards officers) with the theme of Palestinian intifada and martyrdom-seeking, and that a representative of Hamas had been invited to attend. The conference would address the theme of "martyrdom-seeking" from the Sunni and Shi'a perspective and examine its role in politics.

It added that similar initiatives had already been carried out in Tabriz, Busheahr and Tehran. [68]

On 18 November 2005 the Iranian Farhang-e Ashti website noted that the conference had taken place and that 1,000 people had signed up. The spokesman of the Headquarters for the Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Global Islamic Movement, the organisers of the Sharud Conference, added that 50,000 had already signed up for the programme for "martyrdom-seeking operations", and that "we will spread the sweet scent of martyrdom-seeking and the strategy of seeking martyrdom to all corners of Iran".[69]

The focus of this particular initiative, according to the report, was to be against Israel, but in another report Elias Nedran, a member of the Iranian parliament and former intelligence officer in the Revolutionary Guard Corps, referred to a "Zaytoon" initiative, an "organisation for men and women who wish to carry out suicide bombings against the enemies of Islam and Iranian revolution—in particular, the Americans, British and Israelis".[70]

He added that the organisation had so far held three public rallies: the first in Tehran attended by 300 participants; the second attended by 400 participants; the third by 500 men and women. At least one of the rallies was addressed by Ayatollah Muhammed Taki Misbah Yazari, a senior figure in the country's leadership and an advisor to President Ahmadinejad. The report concluded that suicide terrorists were being trained in four camps run by the Revolunary Guard Corps (RGC) and that the "Jerusalem Column" of the RGC were receiving physical and ideological training, including courses and explosives, and Arabic and English classes.

According to this report Yazari had declared that "suicide operations are the peak of the nation, and the height of its bravery . . . this holy organisation of the Islamic Republic is aimed at those who are interested in suicide. The volunteer will join specialist course. Brothers and sisters who believe and are interested in defending Islam are invited to get in touch via PO Box Number 1653-664, Teheran, and are asked to send two photos, a copy of their birth certificate. Please enlist in the suicide squad." [71]

An editorial in the English-language Kayhan International recently urged other Muslim countries to establish a parliamentary force similar to the Basij in order to prevent "all meddling powers from coveting Muslim territories . . . Iran is ready to share its experiences in that field with other countries . . . If the Islamic world were to mobilise its vast material and manpower resources, then no meddler would ever dare think of casting its covetous eyes at Muslim lands . . . it is the heroism and the awe of the word Basij that has deterred the global arrogance (ie the US and the West) from trying any new military adventure against the territorial integrity of Islamic Iran, and its resolve to achieve scientific and technological progress." [72]

Reports in the British press have also noted that Iran is responsible for training terrorists from other countries, notably Chechen secessionists (despite Russian involvement in the Iranian nuclear power research programme), and al Qaeda terrorists. [73]

A report on this latter aspect refers to an interview with senior UK military personnel in Iraq, who stated that the technology for new terrorist bombs was now crossing into Iraq from Iran to al-Qaeda-linked terrorists. [74]

Reports in the Arab press have noted a recent debate among senior officers called to a strategy seminar at the Center for Defence and Strategic Studies who considered attacking Israeli and American interests in the Middle East with suicide bombers as part of a concerted multi-force reaction if Iranian interests are threatened as a consequence of the nuclear proliferation issue. They note also the creation of a "lovers of martyrdom garrison" as part of the armed forces order of battle, and that volunteers from Arab and Muslim countries have received military and ideological training in camps overseen by the RGC. [75]

It is therefore clear that Iranian inspired and funded terrorism is not only directed towards Israel but also the West, and potentially the UK.

ASSESSMENT

Promoting terrorism against its perceived enemies has been a feature of Iranian foreign policy since the Islamic revolution that ushered the late Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini into power. It has been used to advance Iranian long-term strategic and religious aims in the Gulf and wider Middle East, and to attack and undermine its perceived enemies.

Iran's drive to extend its diplomatic and commercial influence among its neighbours is not necessarily popular, or welcomed. Spokesmen for several neighbouring states' goverments have voiced concern over Iran's aggressive and confrontational foreign policy.

"As a gulf area, we don't want to see Iran as the major power in the area . . . and we don't want to see Iran having this nuclear weapon where it will be a major threat to the stability of the gulf area and even the Arab world altogether" stated Mohammed Abdullah al Zulfa, a member of the Saudi Arabian Shura Council.

King Abdullah likewise voiced Jordanian concerns when he stated that Iran was trying to impose a "crescent" of influence in the region. [76]

The recruitment and training of suicide terrorists should therefore be seen in this light. By publicising the terrorist training programmes, the Iranians may intend to hold out the threat of terrorist retaliation should it feel it has been pushed too far over the issue of nuclear proliferation.

Iranian foreign policy is not irrational. Nor is it directed by people who do not calculate the cost of their actions, and others' reactions. It has historically been meticulous in its diplomatic initiatives and even the pursuit of nuclear weapons has been conducted carefully and spun out over several years. However, ideological and religious factors play a significant role in its foreign policy goals and this can affect their assessment of the cost (and benefit) of policy decisions. The election of the messianic zealot, President Ahmadinejad, is unlikely to alter lran's long term aims which are guided by a mixture of radical Islamist ideology and Persian pride.

However its effective use of suicide terrorism in the past against Saudi Arabia during the Haj against Iraq, and via proxies against its exiled critics, Israel and Jewish communities in the West indicates that it will not hesitate to use it in the future.

Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Community Security Trust

February 2006

"Iran is World's top sponsor of terrorism: Rumsfeld Reuters, 4 February 2006. http:/today.reuters.com, downloaded 5 February 2006.

See "Mofaz: Iran-Syria `Axis of Terror` to blame for Tel Aviv suicide bombing", Arnon Regular and Amos Harel, Haaretz, Israel, 20 January 2006.

According to Mofaz, Iran gave approximately $5 to Palestinian Islamic Jihad in 2004 and approximately $10 in 2004.

See Report by The Interdisciplinary Centre, Herzlia, 21 January 2006, Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies, Israel, 23 January 2006.

Some doubted the authenticity of al Zawahiri's condemnatory paper (see for example, "Is al-Zawahiri's Letter to al-Zarkawi a Fake?", Stephen Ulph, Terrorism Focus, Vol 2 Issue 19, Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, 18 October 2005), but the full text is available at: http://www.dni.gov/letterinenglish.doc

"2nd Attack on synagogue in Istanbul", International Herald Tribune, 2 March 1992.