TEHRAN A weekly specializing in Middle East affairs has mocked at the United States for labeling some countries as sponsors of terrorism saying the U.S. is currently supporting the terrorist Zionist regime and certain rebel groups in some Muslim states including Sudan, IRNA reported.

"It took a little over one month for the United States to make a mockery of its own report on global terrorism," said an article published in the Cairo-based *** Middle East Times ***.

It explained that the main reasons the U.S. accuses Iran of state terrorism is because of Iran's support to the Hizbollah in Lebanon.

Quoted by IRNA, the English-language weekly pointed out, however, that less than one month after Washington explained its reasoning to the world for naming seven countries as state sponsors of terrorism, it allocated three million dollars to Sudanese rebels fighting the government in Khartoum.

"What gives Washington the right to grant money to these rebels while condemning Iran for doing the same thing," questioned the article written by Gregory D. Johnsen, a freelance writer living in the U.S.

The paper said that the occupation of Lebanese territory has been condemned by everyone, "yet at no time during Israel's occupation of Lebanon did America accuse Israel of being a state sponsor of terrorism, not even when Israel bombed power stations in Beirut..."

"If the U.S. can act as a sovereign nation and designate aid for a group that is being victimized, then isn't it Iran's right as a sovereign nation to pursue the same path without being punished for it?"

"If Iran is guilty of being a sponsor of terrorism, then, using the same criteria, the U.S. has no choice but to label itself a state sponsor of terrorism," noted the weekly in its latest issue.

The paper concluded that the degree of hypocrisy in the U.S. report on terrorism is laughable.