Remembering the August 7, 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings

Twenty-seven years ago today, al-Qaeda terrorists launched a pair of deadly, coordinated attacks on the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, Dar es Salaam, and Tanzania. The twin bombings killed 224 people and wounded more than 4,000, making it one of the deadliest assaults on American diplomatic facilities, and a chilling preview of what was to come on 9/11. As we honor the lives lost on that dark day, CPAC for Iranians in Exile recommits itself to the fight for justice, not just against the terrorists who carried out these heinous acts, but against the regimes that funded their terror. 

These attacks didn't come from nowhere. They were the product of meticulous planning, advanced training, and network support, much of it provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its terror proxy, Hezbollah. U.S. courts confirmed it: Iran’s regime “aided, abetted, and conspired” with al-Qaeda in the years leading up to the bombings. In the early 1990s, Hezbollah operatives helped train al-Qaeda members in explosives, surveillance, and car bombing tactics in Lebanon, under the guidance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence in Iran. Iran’s regime granted al-Qaeda operatives safe transit, logistical support, and even false passports. Without the Iranian regime’s backing, those bombs may never have gone off. 

This is why CPAC for Iranians in Exile, launched in partnership with United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) exists: to expose the regime’s ties to terror, amplify the voices of Iranian dissidents, and ensure that the world never forgets who enables this violence. We proudly stand with President Trump and all those committed to reimposing “maximum pressure” on the Islamic Republic, not just to prevent a nuclear Iran, but to cut off the regime’s deadly reach around the world. 

Acts of terror are fueled by the hands that enable them. State sponsors like Iran’s regime are the invisible hand behind many of the world’s worst atrocities. 

As we remember August 7th, we don’t just mourn, we take action. We call for accountability. We stand for liberty. And we speak with one voice: the era of Iranian regime-sponsored Islamic terror must end.