For the second time in less than a year, former British prime minister Tony Blair testified before the Iraq Inquiry today. The Inquiry is investigating the circumstances that led up to the Iraq war and its aftermath. For the second time, Blair warned of collusion between Iran and al Qaeda.

Blair said that the problems post-Saddam Iraq faced would have been manageable had it not been for the nefarious influence of external actors such al Qaeda and Iran. No one foresaw their collusion on the eve of the Iraq war, Blair testified. But al Qaeda’s spectacular suicide bombings and Iran’s extensive sponsorship of terrorists and extremists were the main drivers of the violence that engulfed Iraq in violence.