Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, has an alleged connection to joint US-Israeli military strikes against Iran.
When US President Donald Trump authorized airstrikes against Iran last month, he claimed Tehran was responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. The attack killed 17 US sailors and injured 37. He reiterated this claim a few days later during a press conference on Monday.
But contrary to its claims, the US government says Iran had nothing to do with it.
The official 9/11 Commission report concluded that the Cole bombing was carried out by Al-Qaeda. The man accused of planning this operation is Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who allegedly led the operation on direct orders from Osama bin Laden.
Al-Nashiri has been detained at Guantanamo Bay since 2006. After more than two decades of legal delays, he is finally due to stand trial in June 2026.
But Trump’s comments have put that trial in jeopardy.
His lawyer, Allison Miller, says the president’s remarks “impact our defense.” She formally requested the intelligence behind Trump’s claims.
The US government cannot prosecute al-Nashiri for the Cole bombing when the US president publicly accuses Iran of being responsible for the same attack. This contradiction gives the defense a basis from which to work.
Trump’s off-script remarks may have accidentally given a lifeline to the man accused of killing 17 U.S. sailors.
