Via the properly outraged Daniel Larison, Time hosts a pack of dissenters:

The small number of senior members of bin Laden’s now scattered group who remain in Iran are there with the government’s permission, although some of them have been under virtual house arrest, says one of the officials.

The arrangement, say two of the officials, is a pragmatic one: It prevents al Qaeda or any group under its wing from attacking Iran and it provides Tehran some potential leverage in any new negotiations with the U.S., although Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this week said he’s not ready to talk.

“I can envision a moment when, as part of some negotiation, Iran might offer to hand over the al Qaeda types it’s been harboring in exchange for some concession on sanctions,” one U.S. diplomat tells TIME. “If you think about it, that’s kind of the opposite of what the Secretary has said.”