Dhaka, Jan. 13 -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday, without providing hard evidence, that al Qaeda had established a new home base in Iran.

The US top diplomat told at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington that he was announcing publicly for the first time that al-Masri died on August 7 last year, reports Reuters.

Pompeo said his presence in Iran was no surprise, and added: "Al-Masri's presence inside Iran points to the reason that we're here today ... Al-Qaeda has a new home base: it is the Islamic Republic of Iran."

He said the United States had fewer options in dealing with the group now it was "burrowed inside" that country.

According to a recent report, Al Qaeda's Abu Muhammad al-Masri, accus...