A retired Lebanese general turned political analyst has accused the United States of collaborating with al-Qaeda - which he claims is now serving Washington.
"The Al-Qaeda leaders are well aware of the good relations between the network and the US while junior al-Qaeda terrorists assume their group is an enemy of the US and is in deep conflict with Washington," Amin Hatit told FNA on Tuesday.
"Yet, no matter they want it or not, the al-Qaeda members are acting in the interests of the US," he added.
Hatit also accused US President Barak Obama of timed the targeted assassination of Osama Bin Laden to preempt the realization that Washington and Al-Qaeda were collaborating - just as the "flames of popular uprising" spread through the Arab world.
Regional observers note Hatit is a long-time Hizbullah ally with extensive Iranian connections and say he is merely propagating Tehran's latest propaganda meme as the Islamic Republic finds itself in a strategic grapple with Washington and its Gulf Arab allies.
Earlier this week Iranian analyst Amir al-Moussavi told the Tehran-run Fars News Agency that the US has co-opted the al-Qaeda terrorist group in a bid to destabilize the region after it "failed to prolong its military presence in Iraq, isolate Iran on the regional and international scenes and contain its peaceful nuclear program, and topple the Syrian government."
"When the US realized that it cannot hinder the Arab Spring inspired by the Islamic awakening in the region, and Washington failed to hijack these Islamic Revolutions, it tasked the al-Qaeda with rocking the boat to block the path of these revolutions."
Regional analyst Qaleb Qandil, claimed that Washington freed hundreds of al-Qaeda prisoners in Iraq before withdrawing its forces from the war-torn country and infiltrated these terrorists into Syria to carry out attacks against the Syrian people.
Qandil, who has previously accused Israel of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks on the United States and arming al-Qaeda, said the US was behind recent bombings targeting President Bashar al-Assad's security services in Damascus attributed to Al-Qaeda.
"The incident reminds us of those cases in which the US and its allies provoked the al-Qaeda elements in the region," he said.
Qandil's accusation mirrors that of Lebanon's Hizbullah, which has increasingly been at dagger points with Washington, who accused the US of carrying out the Damascus bombings itself.
Lebanese opposition figures called the accusations "ridiculous." Nor did Assad's government, which is locked in a death-grip with Washington and its allies, accuse the US of complicity in the bombings.
Iran has found itself increasingly isolated as the pool of customers for its primary export – oil – has dwindled amid widespread sanctions stemming from its nuclear program, which Western and Gulf Arab countries say has military ambitions.
As Tehran becomes ever more dependent on its primary oil consumer, China, for protection in the UN Security Council against universal sanctions it has adopted a bombastic posture and made extensive use of rhetoric that has little bearing to its actual strategic capabilities or actual events.
Analysts note that the media outlets that serve as Hatit, al-Moussavi, and Qandil's primary platforms for disseminating their often surreal claims are public relations organs of the Iranian government.