This undated handout photo obtained from the FBI on Nov 13, 2020 shows Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who was on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists and has been secretly killed in Iran in August. (HO / FBI / AFP)

WASHINGTON - Iran on Saturday denied a New York Times report that al-Qaida's second-in-command was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that there were no al-Qaida "terrorists" on Iranian soil.

"From time to time, Washington and Tel Aviv try to tie Iran to such groups by lying and leaking false information to the media in order to avoid responsibility for the criminal activities of this group and other terrorist groups in the region," the ministry said.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle in the streets of Tehran on Aug 7, the New York Times reported

Al-Qaida’s second-in-command, accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives acting at the behest of the United States, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing intelligence officials.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle in the streets of Tehran on Aug 7, the Times reported.

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The killing of Masri, who was seen as a likely successor to al-Qaida’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was kept secret until now, the newspaper said.

It was unclear what, if any, role the United States had in the killing of the Egyptian-born militant, the Times said. US authorities had been tracking Masri and other al-Qaida operatives in Iran for years, it said.

Al-Qaida has not announced his death, Iranian officials have covered it up and no government has publicly claimed responsibility, the Times said.

A US official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, declined to confirm any details of the Times’ story or say whether there was any US involvement. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Masri, one of al-Qaida’s founding leaders, was killed along with his daughter, the widow of former al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden’s son, Hamza bin Laden, the Times reported.

Osama bin Laden orchestrated the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and was killed in a US raid in Pakistan in 2011.

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