By BRIAN MURPHY
Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Among the many mysteries inside Iran’s ruling hierarchy, the Quds Force has a special place in the shadows.
It’s been linked by Western officials and others to dozens of clandestine operations around the world such as a deadly bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires in 1994, aiding Shiite militias in Iraq and helping arm Afghanistan’s Taliban – and now as the alleged masterminds of a plot to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington.
Imagine the spymaster cloak of the CIA, the under-the-radar capabilities of military Special Forces and the deep-pocket resources of the Pentagon and big business rolled together. This comes close to explaining the powerful underpinnings of the Quds Force, the Arabic word for Jerusalem and a reference to the city’s Islamic holy sites.