In an October 17 , 2008 interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV , Abdolmalek stated , " the only thing we ask of the Iranian government is to be citizens . We want to have the same rights as the Iranian Shiite people . That 's it . " He described his group as an Islamic awakening movement but denied any ties with Al Qaeda or the Taliban . He also told the interviewer that despite the fact that " many of us have been martyred ... we are prepared to reach an understanding with the Iranian government , Insha Allah . " During 2007 – 2008 , there were allegations that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) was supporting Jundallah , but these claims were debunked by a subsequent investigation showing that the CIA " had barred even the most incidental contact with Jundallah . " The rumors originated in an Israeli Mossad " false flag " operation ; Mossad agents posing as CIA officers met with and recruited members of Jundullah in cities such as London to carry out attacks against Iran . President George W. Bush " went absolutely ballistic " when he learned of Israel 's actions , but the situation was not resolved until President Barack Obama 's administration " drastically scaled back joint U.S.-Israel intelligence programs targeting Iran " and ultimately designated Jundallah a terrorist organization in November 2010 . Although the CIA cut all ties with Jundallah after the 2007 Zahedan bombings , the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) and United States Department of Defense continued to gather intelligence on Jundallah through assets cultivated by " FBI counterterrorism task force officer " ; the CIA co-authorized a 2008 trip McHale made to meet his informants in Afghanistan . According to '' The New York Times '' : " Current and former officials say the American government never directed or approved any Jundallah operations . And they say there was never a case when the United States was told the timing and target of a terrorist attack yet took no action to prevent it . " After Rigi was arrested on 23 February 2010 , Iran 's intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi at a press conference in Tehran claimed that Rigi had been at a US base in Afghanistan 24 hours before his arrest . At a press conference , he flourished a photograph which he said showed Rigi outside the base with two other men , though he gave no details of where the base was , or how or when the photograph was obtained . Photographs were also shown of an Afghan passport and identity card said to have been given by the Americans to Rigi . Moslehi also alleged that Rigi had met the then NATO secretary-general , Jaap de Hoop Scheffer , in Afghanistan in 2008 , and had visited European countries . He said agents had tracked Rigi 's movements for five months , calling his arrest " a great defeat for the US and UK " . On February 25 Iranian state television broadcast a statement by Rigi stating he had had American support and that The Americans said Iran was going its own way and they said our problem at the present is Iran … not al-Qaeda and not the Taliban , but the main problem is Iran . We do n't have a military plan against Iran . Attacking Iran is very difficult for us ( the US ) . They Americans promised to help us and they said that they would co-operate with us , free our prisoners and would give us Jundullah military equipment , bombs , machine guns , and they would give us a base . BBC News carried a report on the statements , noting that " It is not possible to say whether Abdolmalek Rigi made the statement freely or under duress . " The US has denied having links with Rigi 's group , Jundullah . Reuters also reported that Geoff Morrell , Pentagon press secretary , dismissed claims by the Iranian government that Mr. Rigi had been at an American military base just before his arrest . Morrell called the accusations of American involvement " nothing more than Iranian propaganda . " Rigi 's " confession " of American support was likely coerced . According to a former U.S. intelligence officer , Rigi was captured by Pakistani officials and delivered to Iran with U.S. support : " It does n't matter what they say . They know the truth . " On November 3 , 2010 , the U.S. Department of State officially designated Jundallah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization , thereby making it a crime for any person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide material support or resources to Jundallah
2007 Zahedan bombings
2007 Zahedan bombings
Jundallah (Iran)