Iran, Saudi Arabia in war of words over allegations of aiding al-Qaeda

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s claim that Iran is hosting and supporting al-Qaeda leaders has been derided by Iranian officials as a “big lie.”

In a “60 Minutes” interview aired on CBS March 18, Prince Mohammed said, “Unfortunately, Iran is playing a harmful role. The Iranian regime is based on pure ideology. Many of the al-Qaeda operatives are protected in Iran, and it refuses to surrender them to justice and continues to refuse to extradite them to the United States. This includes the son of Osama bin Laden, the new leader of al-Qaeda. He lives in Iran and works out of Iran. He is supported by Iran.”