Al Adel was a prolific writer while living in Iran. In his biography of deceased al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, al Adel describes the ease with which al Qaeda operatives transited Iranian soil. With assistance from al Qaeda, Zarqawi set up a training camp in the Herat province of western Afghanistan. Zarqawi was encouraged to do so because al Qaeda members and new recruits could safely use Iranian cities as transit points.

During a meeting with Zarqawi, al Adel writes, “We proposed the establishment of two stations in Tehran and Mashhad in Iran to facilitate arrival in and departure of brothers to and from Afghanistan.”…

After the September 11 attacks, Iran became an even more important refuge for al Qaeda. Members of both Osama bin Laden’s and Ayman al Zawahiri’s families sheltered there for years. Zawahiri, in particular, had long worked with key commanders in the IRGC. This is probably why Zawahiri sent his daughters and son-in-law, who is also an al Qaeda operative, to Iran in late 2001. Zawahiri’s deputy, Thirwat Salah Shehata, sheltered in Iran as well.

Al Adel writes that he “was the man in charge of securing the arrival of some Arab brothers to Iran and relocating them.” Zarqawi “and his group were among them.”