Iran denies Al-Qaida leader was killed in Tehran

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday denied a report that Israeli agents had fatally shot al-Qaida’s secondranking leader on the streets of Tehran, Iran, likening it to a “Hollywood” scenario manufactured by “American and Zionist” officials.

The ministry issued the denial to Iranian reporters in the wake of a New York Times report Friday which quoted intelligence officials as saying that Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was killed by two motorcycleriding assassins on Aug. 7.

That day was the anniversary of the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people. Al-Masri was accused of being one of the masterminds of the attacks.

The killing of al-Masri and his daughter was carried out by Israeli agents at the behest of the United States, the Times reported.

Saeed Khatibzadeh, a foreign ministry spokesperson, denied “any presence of al-Qaida” members in Iran. And he warned American media outlets

“not to fall for the trap of Hollywood scenarios fed to them by American and Zionist officials,” according to the ministry’s website.

Al-Masri’s death had been rumored but never confirmed.

Al-Masri, who was about 58, was one of al-Qaida’s founding leaders and was thought to be first in line to lead the organization after its current leader, Ayman al-Zawahri. The FBI had offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.

U.S. intelligence officials said al-Masri had been in Iran’s “custody” since 2003, but that he had been living in an upscale suburb of Tehran since at least 2015.

In its statement Saturday, Iran’s foreign ministry accused the U.S. and Israel of leaking false information to the news media “so they don’t have to take responsibility for the murderous actions of this terrorist group and other groups.”