Testimony: Iranian State Sponsorship of Terror
By Matthew Levitt
CIA officials regularly describe Iran as “the foremost state sponsor of terror.” President Bush reaffirmed this assessment in his recent State of the Union address, saying, "Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror.” And earlier this month, British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed the U.S. government’s perception of Iran, saying Iran “certainly does sponsor terrorism. There is no doubt about that at all.”
Iran’s terrorist activities can be split into several primary categories. First, Iran actively seeks to undermine prospects for Israeli-Arab peace. Second, Iran sponsors terrorist groups of global reach, including funding, training, arming and proving safe haven to their members. Third, Iranian intelligence operatives are themselves engaged in terrorist activity on their own and in cooperation with terrorist groups, including surveillance of U.S. interests at home and abroad. This includes efforts to destabilize regimes not to Tehran’s liking, particularly in the Middle East, as evidenced most recently by Iranian activity in Iraq.
For the complete text of Matthew Levitt's congressional testimony, see "Iranian State Sponsorship of Terror: Threatening U.S. Security, Global Stability, and Regional Peace."
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://counterterrorismblog.org/mt/pings.cgi/1302
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Testimony: Iranian State Sponsorship of Terror:
» Daily Dish from The Cool Blue Blog
Back in October the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution requiring Syria to stop meddling in Lebanese affairs. It also called for Syria to disarm it militias operating there and to remove its troops from Lebanon. Syria, after protesting [Read More]
