Houston Chronicle
WASHINGTON - Ever since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad struck a
deal with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez for weekly air service
between the nations' capitals, American officials have worried that
Iranian-backed terrorists could reach to the rim of Latin America,
pick up fake Venezuelan passports and sneak into the United States.
Now,
with growing talk of a pre-emptive Israeli attack to slow Iran's
suspected nuclear arms program, Iran has threatened that it would
retaliate across the globe. And its easy access to the Western
Hemisphere has the U.S. particularly concerned.
The commercial
service between Tehran and Caracas by Iran Air and Conviasa Air
Venezuela, including a stop in Damascus, Syria, is so secretive that
there's confusion among intelligence agencies about whether the
flights are continuing. Israel believes they are; the U.S. isn't so
sure.
Nevertheless, American fears are elevated.
"Some
Iranian officials - probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -
have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an
attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S.
actions that threaten the regime," James Clapper, director of National
Intelligence, warned the Senate Intelligence Committee in his latest
threat assessment.
If that attack comes, experts see it being staged by Iranian operatives who have entered the U.S. through Latin America.
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