Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, speaking in Tehran on on Saturday, rejected claims made by certain Arab media on presence of Ayman al-Zawahiri and son of al-Qaeda Chief Osama Bin Laden in Iran, IRNA reported.
Some Arab media claimed that al Zawahiri, righ-hand man of al-Qaeda chief and Bin Laden's son are among al Qaeda members detained in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Asefi stressed that identification process of the detained al Qaeda members has not been completed, yet adding "we do not see any reason to announce the outcome of the identification process through the media since it is a security issue."
Meanwhile Government Spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh here on Wednesday confirmed that a handful of al-Qaeda members have been arrested and identified in Iran but declined to give further details.
He said naturally, it is difficult to tackle or identify the al-Qaeda operatives, who hold ample forged documents and are well trained by the CIA, and given the complexity of the al-Qaeda network. He added that Iran has asked others to give it a helping hand in that respect.
