Unlikely Iran Had Active Role In 9/11: C.I.A. Official

WASHINGTON, July 22 (AFP) - Iran probably knew that September 11 hijackers passed through its territory before the deadly strikes on the United States, but likely had no direct role in the attacks, a senior CIA official said.
Acting CIA director John McLaughlin said at the weekend that eight hijackers passed through Iran, confirming leaked accounts of the official report into the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
"I don't think we know that this was a deliberate Iranian policy," a CIA official told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday ahead of the release on Thursday of the report of the commission investigating the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
"We think it is more because they had passports that the Iranians would not stamp for whatever reason," the official said.
Noting Iran's hostility to the Taliban who then ruled Afghanistan and sheltered al-Qaeda, the official said "it's a little difficult to see Iran as an ally of al-Qaeda in that period."
Compared to countries like Egypt or Turkey, the official said Iran's "determination to go after (terrorists) is just not as robust."
Another official said the exact relationship between Iran and the hijackers was "murky," but added: "It's hard to imagine that they were unwitting of these operations.... It's harder to make the leap that they were directing operations."