Countering terrorism was and will always be a priority for Saudi Arabia, vowed Saudi Ambassador to the United State Prince Khalid bin Salman on Saturday. “We have taken great strides in combatting terrorism and extremist ideology, be it from non-state actors like ISIS and al-Qaeda or from the leading state sponsor of terrorism - the Iranian regime - two sides of the same coin,” he said in a series of tweets on his official Twitter account. The Iranian regime is infamous for plotting attacks in the Middle East and North Africa region, and also worldwide. Recently in France, before that: Germany, Argentina, Thailand and Washington DC, to name a few. While the regime sends out diplomats to smile to the West, its support for terrorism remains unchanged, he added. He charged that Iran’s relationship with al-Qaeda dates back to the early 1990’s when Lebanon’s “Hezbollah’s” Imad Mughnieh met with Osama Bin Laden in Sudan to trade expertise. “Both terrorists were united in their goal of attacking Saudi Arabia and the US,” stressed the ambassador. The 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 Americans was ordered by the -Iranian Revolutionary Guards-trained Ahmed Al Mughassil, leader of Hezbollah-Hejaz. In 2015 he was captured in Lebanon with an Iranian passport and is now imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, continued Prince Khalid. A US Federal Judge found that al-Qaeda’s attacks in 1998 against US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam would not have been possible without direct assistance from Iran. Prior to their meetings with Iranian agents al-Qaeda did not possess the technical expertise to carry out the attack, tweeted the envoy. “The Abottabad files released by the CIA in November unequivocally prove al-Qaeda’s collusion with Iran in training, recruiting and facilitating movement of hijackers to attack the US. Bin Laden described Iran as his main artery for funds, personnel and communication,” he revealed. He then presented one of the Abottabad files, which shows a translation of a document written by bin Laden himself. This is “irrefutable proof that Iran and al-Qaeda have been in coordination; their target has and remains Saudi Arabia and the US,” he said. When al-Qaeda terrorists, including Saif al-Adel, Suleiman Abu Ghaith and other senior operatives fled Afghanistan in 2001, they were hosted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, he continued. “In fact, they plotted the May 2003 Riyadh terrorist attack from Iran,” he added. Bin Laden’s son, Saad, and the alleged “heir” of al-Qaeda, continues to live safely in Iran, from where he has released dozens of fatwas ordering followers to attack Saudi and US targets in the region. Iran has not responded to Saudi requests to hand him over for trial, tweeted Prince Khalid. “The Iranian regime, consistent with its outlawed behavior, has not spared embassies within its capital from attacks, from the American embassy in 1979, the British embassy in 2011, and most recently the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad in 2016,” he remarked. “The regime’s deadly behavior also extends to the West, where it has assassinated opponents on European soil. Last week, Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat suspected of involvement in a bomb plot against an Iranian opposition rally in France was charged in Germany,” he noted. “Saudi Arabia has been the primary target of al-Qaeda and with Iran’s help. It has killed thousands of Saudis and Americans. We will remain committed to fighting this evil with our partners across the world. Meanwhile, the regime continues its brazen policy of support for global terrorism,” he said.