Evidence of Iran's involvement in international terrorism is indisputable. Iran is the main sponsor of Hezbollah, which has been referred to as the "A-Team" of terrorist groups because of their organization, technical abilities, fundraising, connections and sponsorships. The 9-11 Commission has explicitly linked Iran, Hezbollah and al Qaeda; "Assistance from Hezbollah and Iran to al Qaeda. As we mentioned in chapter 2, while in Sudan, senior managers in al Qaeda maintained contacts with Iran and the Iranian-supported worldwide terrorist organization Hezbollah, which is based mainly in southern Lebanon and Beirut. Al Qaeda members received advice and training from Hezbollah. Intelligence indicates the persistence of contacts between Iranian security officials and senior al Qaeda figures after Bin Laden’s return to Afghanistan. (Page 240)"

Iran has sheltered al Qaeda senior leadership, by the admission of none other than al Qaeda's number two in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in his letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Saif al-Adel, al Qaeda's military commander, confirms this. He openly admits he planned al Qaeda's Iraqi venture with Zarqawi while in Iran, with the assistance and support of Iranian intelligence (see the full post for the full extent of Iranian involvement with al Qaeda). Saif al-Adel, Said bin Laden, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, and a host of al Qaeda senior operatives are directing the global jihad with the aid of the Iranian government.

Dan Darling points us to further evidence of Iran's complicity with al Qaeda: an article in the German magazine Cicero, which states Iran has actively supported Zarqawi's jihad and "used Iran as an important logistical base." Cicero obviously struck a nerve, as the magazine was raided shortly afterward by Germany's Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA), the source of the information. Read Mr. Darling's full post for the evidence. Of note:

Top of the list of Al-Zarqawi's sponsors: the Islamic Republic of Iran and the hardliners from the group around the Al-Qods Brigades of the Revolutionary Guards, the Pasdaran... After the war in Afghanistan, Al-Zarqawi sets up new camps and safe houses in Zahedan, Isfahan, and Tehran. His European followers come to Tehran, bringing with them money and new passport identities and collecting instructions. Communication is handled through middlemen and by phone. The German BND listens in...

The BKA further dispels the myth that Sunni and Shite Islamist would never cooperate: "The fact that the two sides hate one another for religious reasons has never prevented them from cooperating very closely."

The Iranian problem has been deferred to this point as the Iraq theater has taken precedence in the war. The coalition is working to smash al Qaeda's networks in Western Iraq and has already turned its attention to Iran's ally, Syria. Despite Iranian support of al Qaeda, the terrorists are failing to influence the future of Iraq. Success in Iraq is not only a defeat for al Qaeda, but strikes a blow at the terror masters themselves.