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After 5 years, nothing had changed.
Key Areas and Methods of Support
Terrorist Proxies: Iran funds, arms, and trains a network of militias and militant groups, including Hezbollah in LebanonHamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip, and the Houthis in Yemen.
Regional Destabilization: Iran utilizes these groups to fight in regional conflicts, such as in Syria and Iraq, and to attack U.S., Israeli, and Saudi Arabian interests.
International Operations: Iran has been implicated in assassination plots and bombings targeting opponents and dissidents in Europe, Turkey, and elsewhere.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): The Quds Force, an elite unit of the IRGC, is primarily responsible for implementing this foreign policy by providing advanced weaponry, including drones and missiles, to these proxies.
U.S. Department of State (.gov)
Documented Activities
Support for Hezbollah: Iran has provided Hezbollah with significant funding, weapons, and training since its inception in the 1980s, enabling it to attack Israeli and Western targets.
Attacks on Shipping: Iran has supplied the Houthis with weaponry used to attack commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea.
Assassination Plots: In 2021 and 2022, plots linked to Iranian intelligence were disrupted in the United States and Europe targeting journalists and former U.S. officials.
Kidnapping and Murder: Iran has been accused of targeting dissidents for kidnapping and assassination, including in plots in Albania, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Role in 9/11: The 9/11 Commission Report noted that some of the 9/11 hijackers passed through Iran, with their travel facilitated by Iranian border guards, though it found no evidence of direct Iranian foreknowledge of the attacks.
U.S. Department of State (.gov)
Iran has often denied these allegations, describing their support for these groups as "moral support" for liberation movements fighting against occupation. However, the international community, including the United States, the European Union, and several Arab nations, has continued to sanction Iran for its support of terrorism.
U.S. Department of State (.gov)
The Islamic Republic of Iran: A Dangerous Regime - State Department
Iran's Islamic regime also is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. To counter the regime's destabilizing and malign behavior both at home and abroad,
U.S. Department of State (.gov)