Canadian authorities have released information on Monday that they had foiled a terrorist plot, in cooperation with the United States, hatched by Al Qaeda affiliates, which would have involved the use of a passenger train.
The same authorities have advised that their discovery involves a group that seems to have support from Iran.
Iranian authorities have quickly tried to distance themselves today from the plot, by saying that there is no state sponsorship of the planned attack.
The Al Qaeda affiliates in Canada were linked to support groups in Iran through investigations of the two suspects arrested.
The Iranian authorities have denied involvement by citing the fact that A.Q. is a Sunni group, one of the most orthodox, the Salafist branch, who have no amity towards the Shi'a, who represent the clear majority in Iran.
However, foreign intelligence has noted that through the years Iran has always tolerated the presence and the operations of A.Q. affiliates in its country.
In fact Canada has just severed its diplomatic ties with Iran in September of 2012, after declaring that they were concerned about Iran's lack of action to prevent terrorism in the world and even their clear role in it.
Although none of the suspects is an Iranian national, the two had been under surveillance for quite a while, after a suspicious Imam reported their activity to authorities. The Imam was trying to prevent radicalization of some of its youngest members by the two suspects.
It is unclear at this time whether this long term investigation is in any way related to the Canadian government severing of its Iranian ties, or viceversa that the severing caused the planning of the terror attack as retaliation. However, the Canadian authorities have tied the two suspects to Al Qaeda and the Iranian government through a relation of one of the suspects, Saif Al Adel's father in law, Mustafa Hamid, who is apparently tied to the Iranian govt.
Source: BBC 4.23.13
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