Osama bin Laden is 'alive, well, and hunting falcons in Iran', documentary claims

Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living in luxury in Iran, it is claimed. That is the astonishing suggestion in a documentary to be shown at a film festival in New York. Bin Laden has been housed in a guarded compound north of Tehran with his wife, several children and grandchildren since 2003, protected by the Iranian regime, according to Feathered Cocaine, an Icelandic film about the illicit multi-million-dollar trade in falcons. In the film, a disguised falcon smuggler from the former Soviet Union identified only as 'T-2' says he first met bin Laden in 2004 at a falcon-hunting camp in northeastern Iran. 'I met him five times after 2004,' says the smuggler. The last time we met was in October 2007. Every time, it was in Iran.' Falcon hunting is an exclusive hobby practised by some of the richest men in the Middle East, who travel to luxurious desert retreats to pursue the sport. A bird’s value can reach one million dollars. The claim contradicts the common theory that bin Laden is living in an isolated network of fortified caves somewhere in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Daily Mail)