A newly released trove of documents recovered from Osama bin Ladens Pakistan compound have revealed "secret dealings" between Iran and al-Qaeda.
Nearly half a million files found on the computer seized in the May 2, 2011, US raid on the al-Qaeda founder's hideout in Abbottabad were released by the CIA on Wednesday.
A never-before-seen 19-page document purportedly written by a senior member of al-Qaeda details an arrangement between Iran and members of the group to strike American interests in "Saudi Arabia and the Gulf."
In exchange, Shia Iran offered Sunni militants "money, arms? and ?training in Hizbollah camps in Lebanon."
Iranian intelligence facilitated the travel of some operatives with visas, while sheltering others.
Iranian connections to Hizballah and Palestinian militant groups, such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad, are well-documented, but its ties to al-Qaeda have until now mostly been shrouded in secrecy.
