After the September 11 attacks, al-Masri fled Afghanistan and went to Iran. Along with one of bin Ladin’s sons and Saif al-Adl—another top member of al-Qaeda—al-Masri was effectively placed on house arrest while in Iran. This arrangement was reflective of
al-Qaeda and Iran’s long and complicated relationship, in which Tehran has essentially sheltered terrorists such as al-Adl and al-Masri, but limited their movements and activities. While the exact date is publicly uncertain, by late 2015 Iran had released al-Masri (along with al-Adl and others) in exchange for an Iranian diplomat held hostage by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In July 2016, a Syrian al-Qaeda media outlet released an audio recording of al-Masri, showing that when he left Iran he went to Syria...
Abu Khayr al-Masri: guest in Iran 2001-2015
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