Egyptian
born al-Zawahiri - who is in good health - and Abu Gaith - who was
stripped of his Kuwaiti nationality - have never been to Iran in the
first place, according to the same source.
He
added that one of (Shaikh) Osama’s sons - refusing to name him - had
been to Iran some six months ago, but found out it was not suitable
enough to stay, so he returned to Afghanistan.
Al-Qaeda
official rejected as “sheer lies” the report broadcast by al-Arabiya
Satellite Channel Friday, June 27.
Reports,
since then, have been going that Iran was locked in highly secretive and
complex extradition talks with Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over
detainees it holds and are widely believed to be top members of
al-Qaeda.
According
to diplomatic sources, Iran could deal the biggest blow to al-Qaeda
since the U.S.-led war on Afghanistan by handing over some of bin
Laden's closest aides.
But
government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh told Agence France-Presse
(AFP) many of the detainees were still being identified, adding that is
was unlikely their names would ever be officially released.
"We
have not been able to identify all Al-Qaeda members, and even if we did
there is no reason for us to give their names to the press. This is a
security issue, and this is how security apparatuses work," he
said.
Iran
has also pointed to its extradition of some 500 fugitives from
Afghanistan in the wake of the U.S. ouster of Taliban, a figure that has
been independently confirmed by well-kept sources.
One
of those allegedly detained was Egyptian-born Saif al-Adel, thought to
have taken over as al-Qaeda's number three from military operations
chief Mohammad Atef, who was believed killed in Afghanistan in late
2001.
The
second is Saad bin Laden, one of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's eldest
sons. In his early 20's, Saad is thought to have taken a senior position
in the running of al-Qaeda.
The
third believed to be in Iranian custody is Sulaiman Abu Gaith, a
Kuwaiti-born al-Qaeda spokesman.
"But
the negotiations to hand them over are very delicate, so for the moment
there has been no official word on who they are," one diplomat
said.
Diplomats
said negotiations to extradite the detainees have been running for
several weeks but were hitting snags, given that Iran has only low-level
diplomatic ties with Egypt.
