US imposes sanctions on four al-Qaeda operatives in Iran

Jan 16, 2009, 20:07 GMT

Washington - The US slapped sanctions Friday on four alleged al-Qaeda members believed to be in Iran, including a son of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and said Iran must make clear its efforts to rein in the terrorist group.

The US Treasury imposed sanctions on Saad bin Laden, Mustafa Hamid, Muhammad al-Bahtiyti and Ali Saleh Husain. The designation freezes their assets and prevents any US citizen from having financial dealings with the individuals.

The Treasury said Hamid had served as the 'primary interlocutor' between al-Qaeda and the Iranian government and was protected by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard. He was reportedly arrested by Iranian authorities in mid-2003, the Treasury said.

'It is important that Iran give a public accounting of how it is meeting its international obligations to constrain al-Qaeda,' said Stuart Levey, the Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

Levey said the sanctions would help keep 'financial pressure' on al-Qaeda's operations.

Bin Laden's son Saad helped family members escape to Iran after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. Saad bin Laden was detained by Iran in 2003, but the Treasury said he may have been released last September.

Bahtiyi is the father-in-law of al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri and was reportedly involved in the 1995 bombing of Egypt's embassy in Pakistan.

Bahtiyi also helped bring al-Zawahiri's family to Iran after the al-Qaeda-led September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. The Treasury said he had been arrested by Iranian authorities in mid- 2003.

Husain was described as a 'senior al-Qaeda associate' with close contacts to bin Laden, who has also been detained by Iranian authorities since early 2003.