Al Qaeda breaks with Iran

Iran's proxies have been spreading the rumor that 9-11 was done by the Jews. Al Qaeda's number 2 man, Al-Zawahri thinks this is an insult to his organization's ability to kill. The AP writes:

One questioner asked about the theory that has circulated in the Middle East and elsewhere that Israel was behind the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Al-Zawahri accused Hezbollah's Al-Manar television of starting the rumor. "The purpose of this lie is clear—(to suggest) that there are no heroes among the Sunnis who can hurt America as no else did in history. Iranian media snapped up this lie and repeated it," he said. ....

Al-Qaida has previously claimed responsibility for the Sept. 11 attacks.

The AP notes that this is a change from al Zawahiri's previously accommodating tone toward Iran:

The increasing enmity toward Iran is a notable change of rhetoric from
al-Zawahri, who in the past rarely mentioned the country — apparently
in a hopes he would be able to forge some sort of understanding with
Tehran based on their common rivalry with the United States. Iran has
long sought to distance itself from al-Qaida.

Once again, al Zawahiri claimed that al Qaida is leading the opposition against democracy in Iraq:

[Al Zawahiri] said the Iraqi insurgent umbrella group led by al-Qaida, called the
Islamic State of Iraq, is "the primary force opposing the Crusaders
(the United States) and challenging Iranian ambitions" in Iraq.

Apparently, he did not get the Democrats memo about Iraq being a distraction from the 'real' war on terror.