Pompeo says Al Qaeda has set up 'home base' in Iran, are 'partners in terrorism'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said that Al Qaeda has set up a "home base" in Iran – and Tehran and the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terror attacks are "partners in terrorism."

Pompeo used the speech to confirm that Abu Muhammad al-Masri, described as Al Qaeda’s number-two leader, had been killed in Iran last year. Al Qaeda’s previous base was in Afghanistan, where it plotted the 9/11 attacks and was eventually ousted after the U.S. invasion in 2001. Pompeo said the relationship with Iran had been in place for nearly three decades and had seen a "sea change" in 2015 with the signing of the Iran nuclear deal.