High Iran Official Reportedly Tied to Saudi Bomb Suspects

U.S. and Saudi intelligence authorities have linked a senior Iranian government official to a group of Shiite Muslims suspected of bombing an American military compound in Saudi Arabia last year, according to U.S. and Arab officials.

Intelligence information indicates that Brig. Ahmad Sherifi, a senior Iranian intelligence officer and a top official in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, met about two years before the bombing with a Saudi Shiite arrested last month in Canada, the officials said. The man, Hani Abdel Rahim Hussein Sayegh, had fled Saudi Arabia after the bombing June 25 that killed 19 U.S. airmen in Dhahran, according to Canadian court records.

Sayegh, 28, has been identified by Canadian authorities as “a direct participant” in the bombing. Canadian court documents identify Sayegh as a member of Saudi Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group of militant Shiite Muslims. He has denied involvement in the bombing.

The evidence of Iranian links to the Saudi Shiites suspected in the bombing includes checks signed by Sherifi, according to Arab sources. It is unclear whether the checks were given to Sayegh or other suspects in the attack. The evidence appears to show a conclusive link to Sherifi, but one official said there is no hard evidence of his operational role in the attack.

Sherifi’s duties include organizing Hezbollah cells in Arab countries around the Persian Gulf, sources said. He is well-known to Saudi officials because he was implicated during a trial in Bahrain last year for 15 Bahraini Shiite dissidents convicted of several hotel and restaurant bombings.