US Congress traces Iran’s ‘malign activities’ in Middle East
The report based on annual reports released by
the US Department of States on the international terrorism since early 1990s.
Late August, U.S. National security adviser John
Bolton said the Iranian regime is considered the central bank of the global
terrorism since 1979.
CRS report, which is released on September 19,
said Iran provides trainings and military and financial support to the armed
factions, include pro-Syrian President armed groups, to carry out terrorist
attacks. Also, Iran’s support goes to Hezbollah militias of Lebanon, Houthi
rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and other Bahraini armed groups.
Iran’s allies have launched terrorist attacks
against Sunni-ruled countries, the report added. Tehran along with its allies
are responsible for inciting violence in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon,
and Yemen, the report said, adding that armed groups gained a significant
experience of fighting during the Syrian war.
Moreover, the report accused Hezbollah of
following Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamene’s religious instructions.
Support of Hezbollah
Politically, Hezbollah has a major force in
Lebanon as it has a key role of decision-making during the elections. In
addition, its militias fight for al-Assad in Syria.
Iran’s lion share of funding goes to Hezbollah
as its allocated money was estimated at $700 million annually. The Islamic
republic also provides appropriate training camps for Hezbollah fighters,
according to another report issued in 2016.
As for Iran’s support to Yemen’s Houthis, the
CRS report said that Iran sends funds to Houthis and provide them training
camps.
United States Special Envoy to Iran, Brian Hawk
said on September 19 that Iran's support for the Houthis was confirmed when an
Iranian-made rocket was launched by the rebel militias from Yemen at Riyadh
airport in Saudi Arabia in November 2017.
He added in a session on the Iranian nuclear
file at Hudson Research Center that Iran is turning the Middle East into
another Lebanon where pro-Tehran Hezbollah guerrillas control over political
and military decisions.
Moreover, the CRS pointed that Tehran is
providing Palestinian Haman group with arms and amount of money estimated at
$300 million annually. Since 2008, Hamas has used Iran-made missile against Israel,
the report continued. The latest attack of Iran-manufactured missiles against
Israel was in 2014. However, missile trade with Iran declined in 2018 Summer.
“The Trump Administration has cited Iran’s
regional ‘malign activities’ and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert
that ‘Iran’s provocative actions threaten the United States, [and] the [Middle
East] region,’ and that the JCPOA failed to address Iran’s objectionable
behavior beyond its nuclear program,” the report read.
CRS report also reviewed Iran's ideology with a
number of countries, notably the United States of America and Saudi Arabia.
Iran is considered "the biggest country
supporting terrorism," especially the Islamic State militant group of
"Daesh", the greatest threat to international security,
said U.S. Administration in an annual
report on terrorism in July 2017.
