US State department’s report on terrorism reveal malicious actions of Iran in the region
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Alaina
- . June 25, 2020
- . Update: June 25, 2020 6:42 pm
The US State Department of the United States released Wednesday its annual report to the congress, Country Reports on Terrorism 2019. The document affirms that the Iranian government continues to support terrorist plots to attack dissidents in several countries in Europe. It maintains a robust, offensive cyber program to target foreign government and private sector entities.
The US report on terrorism also indicates thatIran refuses to publicly identify Al-Qaeda members in its custody.“Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran continued its terrorist-related activity in 2019, including support for Hezbollah, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, and various terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq, and throughout the Middle East”. The report continues.
Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to provide support to terrorist organizations, cover associated covert operations, and create instability in the region.The US State department affirms,stressing that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in April 2019, designated the IRGC, including the Qods Force, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Iran also used regional proxy forces to provide deniability, in an attempt to shield it from accountability for its aggressive policies.
Then the document highlights the malicious actions of the Islamic Republic in the region.In Yemen, Iran continues to provide weapons, support, and training to the Houthi militia, who have engaged in terrorist attacks against regional targets.Touching on members of Al-Qaeda in Iranian custody, the report said that Iran refuses to bring them to justice and publicly identify members in its custody. “Iran has allowed AQ facilitators to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iran since at least 2009, enabling AQ to move funds and fighters to South Asia and Syria,” proves the document released on Wednesday by Trump’s administration.
European countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Albania, have arrested or expelled Iranian government officials who were implicated in terrorist plots inside these countries. “Denmark similarly recalled its ambassador from Tehran after learning of an Iran-backed plot to assassinate an Iranian dissident in its country,” according to the report.Separately, the documentpraised Saudi Arabia for its work in counterterrorism (CT) and “measures to counter terrorist radicalization and recruitment.”
The report affirms that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia maintained a high cooperation tempo with US and international partners in a range of CT fields.“The Saudi Arabian government worked to disrupt, and supported US and international sanctions against, terrorist finance networks, focusing heavily on entities supporting Iran’s IRGC-QF, Lebanese Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxy groups active in the Gulf.”Regarding Turkey, the main ally of Iran, the report noted that Turkish authorities use certain laws to criminalize freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and other human rights.
According to several sources, after interfering in Libya, Turkey is now working alongside Iran to send thousands of Syrian mercenaries to Yemen. One of these fighters confirmed to us that recruitment has already started in Syria. “We will soon be in Yemen and perhaps also in Lebanon,” says the young mercenary currently deployed in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
