'Iran responsible for 1998 US embassy bombings'
Federal court finds Iran, Sudan culpable for al-Qaeda's 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya, Tanzania. 'Iran had been the preeminent state of terrorism against US interests for decades,' says judge
In a little noticed ruling last week, a Washington district court found that both Iran and Sudan were culpable for al-Qaeda’s 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, the Weekly Standard magazine reported.
As is typical in state sponsorship of terrorism cases, neither Iran nor Sudan answered the plaintiffs’ accusations. But in a 45-page decision, Judge John D. Bates issued a default judgment.
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The court found that the "government of the Islamic Republic of Iran…has a long history of providing material aid and support to terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda," which "claimed responsibility for the August 7 1998 embassy bombings."
Kenyan embassy bombing in 1998
According to the judge's ruling: "Iran had been the preeminent state sponsor of terrorism against United States interests for decades. Throughout the 1990s – at least – Iran regarded al-Qaeda as a useful tool to destabilize US interests.
"The government of Iran aided, abetted and conspired with Hezbollah, Osama bin Laden, and al Qaeda to launch large-scale bombing attacks against the United States by utilizing the sophisticated delivery mechanism of powerful suicide truck bombs.
"Hezbollah had utilized this type of bomb in the devastating 1983 attacks on the US embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.
"Prior to their meetings with Iranian officials and agents, Bin Laden and al-Qaeda did not possess the technical expertise required to carry out the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. The Iranian defendants, through Hezbollah, provided explosives training to Bin Laden and al Qaeda and rendered direct assistance to al Qaeda operatives."
The court decision was part of a civil suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act ("FSIA"), the plaintiffs in the case were the victims' families, mostly civilians working at the embassy at the time of the attack.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that the US Treasury announced the designation of six al-Qaeda facilitators operating in Iran under a "secret deal" between al-Qaeda and the Iranian regime.
The report quoted the Treasury: "This network serves as the core pipeline through which al-Qaeda moves money, facilitators, and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia."
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