TEHRAN – The Iranian Foreign Ministry has strongly reacted to the U.S. State Department’s annual report on global terrorist activity which has branded Iran as “the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in 2015,” calling it “illusory.”

In the report claims that Iran has provided “a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world.”

“Had it not been for the U.S. military interventions and its destructive supports for terrorist groups in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, the global community would have not incurred heavy costs of worldwide confrontation with the terrorist groups,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said in a communique issued on Saturday.

The report also claimed that Iran was continuing to provide arms and cash to groups like Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia groups, including Kata'ib Hizballah (KH), both designated as “foreign terrorist organizations” in the report.

Unlike the last year’s report, Cuba has been removed from the recent one, limiting state terrorism sponsors to Iran, Sudan, and Syria, respectively designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, 1993, 1979.

The Iranian official further rapped Washington for having double standards on terrorism, which Tehran believes has resulted in more terrorist activities in the region.

“The United States’ instrumental use of terrorism and its blatant disregard for atrocities committed by terrorist groups against civilians have caused terrorism to put down roots, making it more difficult to deal with,” Ansari added.

The report also blames Washington for turning a blind eye to Saudi Arabia’s political and financial supports for terrorism and extremist groups, which have left millions of Muslims displaced and homeless.
Ironically, the report comes amid Iran’s positive counterterrorism role in the region which has prevented Damascus and Baghdad to fall into the hands of ISIL.

“While the United States’ regional allies are backing Daesh and other terrorist groups in one way or another, it is the Islamic Republic of Iran which is in the forefront of the counter-terrorism campaign in Iraq and Syria,” the statement said.

According to the State Department website, to designate a country as a state sponsor of terrorism, the secretary of state must determine that the government of such country has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.
Upon designation, a wide range of sanctions are imposed against that country, including a ban on arms-related exports and sales, controls over exports of dual-use items, prohibitions on economic assistance, and imposition of miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.

AK/PA