With the expulsion of a senior al-Qaida official, Iran appears to be signaling a crackdown on the terrorist group that has long sought refuge within its borders, even as Tehran allows al-Qaida operatives safe transit to Afghanistan, U.S. officials say.
Iran's ouster of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a former al-Qaida spokesman and the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, marked at least the third time in the past year that a prominent al-Qaida figure has left the country after living for years in a limbo between houseguest and home detention.
U.S. officials and terrorism experts say the tougher stance appears to reflect growing tensions between Iran's Shiite clerics and the Sunni Muslim terrorist group, particularly over the conflict in Syria, where the two are backing opposing sides.