State Dept. notes ‘marked resurgence’ in Iran-sponsored terror

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Iran-sponsored terrorism showed a “marked resurgence” last year, the State Department said in its annual report on terrorism.

The report released Thursday named the al-Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, its ministry of intelligence and Hezbollah, its ally in Lebanon, as behind the resurgence.

“Iran and Hezbollah’s terrorist activity has reached a tempo unseen since the 1990s, with attacks plotted in Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa,” the report said.

It noted suspected Hezbollah plots in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Thailand, Georgia, Kenya and India.

Israel was called a “stalwart counterterrorism partner” in the report, which noted continuing rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip — an area is controlled by Hamas, a State Department-designated terrorist group.

The report also pointed out the role of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank in disarming and dismantling terrorist groups, as well as a decision by Israel authorities to define as “terror” settler attacks on Palestinians.