Iran rated most active in terror

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The State Department branded Iran the world’s most active sponsor of terrorism Tuesday as the Islamic fundamentalist state intensified support for Palestinian militants attacking Israel.

On the other hand, Libya and Sudan were taking steps "to get out of the terrorism business," and North Korea and Syria took smaller steps in that direction but continued to host militant groups, the department said in its annual report to Congress.

The report named seven states as sponsors of terrorism, including Cuba and Iraq, the latter concentrating its terror on opponents of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein but also providing bases for anti-Israel terror groups.

"The terrorist threat is global in scope, many-faceted and determined," Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "The campaign against terrorism must be equally comprehensive."

In listing Iran, the department said the country has matched rhetoric with action, acting on supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s denunciation of Israel as a "cancerous tumor" that must be removed.

On the other hand, Libya last year sharply decreased its support for international terrorism, trying to shed its "pariah status," and Sudan also moved toward cooperation with the U.S. campaign against militant groups, the department said in "Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001."

Lebanon, which was not listed, nonetheless was accused of refusing to hand over three Hezbollah operatives who are on the FBI’s list of most wanted terrorists for their role in the hijacking of a TWA airliner in 1985.

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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