Thread by @HeshmatAlavi

THREAD

1)
Add this to the long list linking #Iran's regime with international terrorism.

This time, the al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab militant group of Somalia.

More reason why a firm policy is needed against Tehran.
#WalkAway
uk.reuters.com/article/somali…

2)
"Criminal networks are using Iran as a transit point for illicit Somali charcoal exports that earn Islamist militants al Shabaab millions of dollars annually in tax, U.N. sanctions monitors said in a report seen by Reuters."

3)
"... domestic revenue generation by al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab 'is more geographically diversified and systematic' than that of Somalia’s federal government."

4)
"The report says that since March the main destination for shipments - using fake country of origin certificates from Comoros, Ivory Coast and Ghana - has been ports in Iran, where the charcoal is packaged into white bags labelled 'Product of Iran.'"

5)
"The bags were then reloaded onto smaller, Iran-flagged dhows (boats), and exported to Port Al Hamriya, Dubai, UAE, using certificates of origin falsely indicating the ‘country of manufacture’ of the charcoal as Iran,' the monitors wrote."

6)
"Iran became a transit point for the shipments — which breach a U.N. ban on Somali charcoal exports — after Oman tightened its customs procedures, said the report."

7)
“'The charcoal trade continues to be a significant source of revenue for al Shabaab, generating at least $7.5 million from checkpoint taxation,' they wrote."

8)
"The Iranian mission to the U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment."

9)
"The U.N. Security Council banned charcoal exports from Somalia in 2012 in a bid to cut off funds for al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-affiliated group trying to topple Somalia’s Western-backed central government..."

10)
In your opinion, should #Iran's regime come under further sanctions for its continued support of international terrorism?

11)
Here's an important read:

"...depending on Iran to fight terrorism is like making an arsonist part of the fire brigade. There is no basis for believing this will possibly work. Iran must unequivocally abandon its backing of international terrorism..."
businessinsider.com/trusting-iran-…