The fall of the Shah in Iran in 1979 gave rise to a new government run by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Following his rise to power, Iran became a state-sponsor of terrorism.
“In March 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said,” ‘Iran has been the country that has been in many ways a kind of central banker for terrorism in important regions like Lebanon through Hezbollah in the Middle East, in the Palestinian Territories, and we have deep concerns about what Iran is doing in the south of Iraq.’“A few months after Hamas won the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections in early 2006, Iran pledged $50 million to the near-bankrupt PA. The United States, among other nations, has cut off aid to the PA because of Hamas’ terrorist ties.” “Yes. Iran has hundreds of Scuds and other short-range ballistic missiles. It has also manufactured and flight-tested the Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of 1,300 kilometers—enough to hit Israel or Saudi Arabia.” (http://www.cfr.org/publication/9362/state_sponsors.html)
Iranian Terror Timeline
- Iran Hostage Crisis 1979-81— American Embassy siege by Iranian Revolutionaries ordeal lasted 444 days.
- Bombing in Beirut 1983— A blast In June of 1983 leveled a building killing 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut, Lebanon. After the bombing occurred the U.S. found out that Iranians had been driving the vehicle that was used to carry out the attack.
- TWA plane hijackings 1985— TWA flight 847 from Athens to Rome was hijacked in 1985 with seven NAVY divers aboard. The plane flew to Beirut and released most of the women and children. Next the plane went on to Algiers. Upon arrival it circled back to Beirut. Hijackers beat the American and Jewish hostages. They then shot and killed an American and proceeded to throw him out of the cockpit window. This ordeal lasted two weeks and the American hostages were eventually released to the Syrians.
- Khobar Towers 1996 — In June of 1996 Iranians (in conjunction with the terrorist group Hezbollah) bombed the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. The Khobar Towers complex was being used to house foreign military personnel, including Americans. Hezbollah exploded a fuel truck into one of the eight-story buildings that housed U.S. Air force personnel. In all, 19 U.S. servicemen and one Saudi were killed and 372 others were wounded.
- Links to IMU 2002-present—- In 2002 the U.S. acquired information that Iranians were providing training and logistical support for insurgents from the radical al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). The Iranians helped to coordinate IMU activities. Iran’s influence in post Soviet countries was undermining strategic partnerships the Bush administration had built. These were the areas critical in the war on terror.
- 9/11 connection—Shortly before the 9/11 Commission Report was released, documents were uncovered describing in detail Iran’s ties to al-Qaeda . The report outlined Iran’s ties with the major terrorist group Hezbollah (based mainly in Beirut and southern Lebanon). Intelligence information also revealed that top Iranian officials were directly involved in the 9/11 plot. Iran gave al-Qaeda members passports, intelligence assistance and a safe haven.
