WASHINGTON — In its scramble to marshal resources for gathering intelligence on Al Qaeda and Iraq, the CIA shut down a spy ring it was operating in South America that was providing a rare glimpse of the activities of Iranian militants and intelligence networks, according to a former agency official involved in the operation.
The program, which had taken five years to assemble, penetrated Iranian intelligence operations in South America and succeeded to the point that several of the CIA's informants were taken to Iran for religious training, the former official said.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday March 30, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 38 words Type of Material: Correction
Iran intelligence -- An article in Sunday's Section A about U.S. efforts to gather intelligence on Iran said the tri-border area of South America consists of Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay. The tri-border area comprises Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina.
But the operation was dismantled by CIA officials who were skeptical of its value, the former official said, and who were under growing pressure to redeploy agency funds and personnel from South America and other regions seen as less crucial than the nation's expanding war fronts.
Iran's intelligence service has been active in South America for decades, officials said. The decision to pull the plug on the CIA-run program came in 2002, after President Bush had declared Iran part of an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea, but before the administration made confronting Iran over its nuclear program and its support for terrorist activities a top priority.
The agency has struggled to obtain reliable intelligence on Iran. The official who was involved in managing the spy ring said it was among the few successes the CIA had had in recent years.
"I believe now if we're forced to go back into Iran, we're going to be starting from near zero," the official said, referring to intelligence on the Islamic regime. The Bush administration has recently endorsed European efforts to negotiate with Iran to dismantle its nuclear enrichment program, but has not ruled out the possible use of military strikes or covert operations.
Further, the official said the South American operation had put the CIA in position to learn of plots by Iran and elements of Hezbollah, which were linked to attacks against Jews in South America during the 1990s.
"I will not say we stopped a terrorist act but will say we were in close enough that had one been planned, we would have had that opportunity," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
CIA officials declined to discuss details of the operation, but disputed the suggestion that the agency had sacrificed a successful or potentially valuable program.
