State Department report: Iran is the main state sponsor of terrorism

The US State Department has published its annual survey of world-wide terrorism which names the Islamic Republic of Iran as the main state sponsor of terror in 2015.

Iran had provided "a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world," the report said. It went on to highlight the Iranian regime's support for Hezbollah, Palestinian groups such as Hamas, and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Despite reaching an agreement on its nuclear program and the partial end of sanctions in 2015, the report says Iran continued to use the Al-Quds unit of its Revolutionary Guard to implement its foreign policy goals.

Commenting on the report, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran had no intention of cooperating on regional issues with its main enemies, the "Great Satan" [United States] and "evil" Britain. In a speech broadcast live on state TV, Khamenei accused Washington of not being committed to the nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major powers last year. 

The terror report also included Syria and Sudan as state sponsors of terrorism. Cuba was removed from the list last year after diplomatic ties between the two countrie were restored.

Justin Siberell, the State Department's acting coordinator for counterterrorism, said at a press briefing that the international community "made important progress in degrading terrorist safe havens – in particular, a sizeable reduction in the amount of territory held by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or Isil, in Iraq and Syria, as well as the finances and foreign terrorist fighters available to it. At the same time, however, instability in key regions of the world, along with weak or nonexistent governance, sectarian conflict, and porous borders continue to provide terrorist groups like Isil the opportunity to extend their reach, terrorise civilians, and attract and mobilise new recruits."

According to statistics compiled by the University of Maryland, there were 11,774 terror attacks in 2015, resulting in 28,328 deaths, compared with 13,463 attacks in 2014 which killed 32,727 people.