Reuters reported early on 12 January that outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was set to accuse Iran of having connections with the notorious terror organisation to al-Qaeda* in his Tuesday speech.
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has taken to Twitter to berate the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, after reports emerged suggesting that the top American diplomat was about to accuse Tehran of having links with al-Qaeda.
According to the Reuters' report, the US state secretary was prepared to give details on allegations that Tehran backed al Qaeda and provided the terror group's leaders with support during his speech to the National Press Club in Washington.
The media said, citing two anonymous sources, that Pompeo might bring up declassified data on the August assassination in the Iranian capital of a man who was thought to be al-Qaeda's second-in-command.
The assassination was reported by The New York Times in November, with the outlet saying that a high-ranking Egyptian member of al-Qaeda, Abu Muhammad al-Masri, had been shot by Israeli operatives in the Iranian capital. Tehran rejected the report, saying there were no al-Qaeda terrorists in the country.
Numerous media outlets have run articles in the post-US presidential election period suggesting that the outgoing administration might be preparing for a last minute confrontation with Iran, with Trump reportedly asking his aides about…
