Department of State: U.S. does not support any terrorist groups in Iran

The U.S. does not support any terrorist groups, including the organizations opposition to the Government of Iran and continues to strengthen measures to prevent the spread of violence against civilians, a U.S. Department of State official said.

"The United States does not sponsor any form of terrorism, a U.S. Department of State official, who wished to remain unnamed, told Trend. - We will continue to work with the international community to curtail support for terrorist organizations and prevent violence against innocent civilians."

Tehran has repeatedly accused the U.S. officials of supporting terrorist groups in opposition to the Iranian government, including the Jundullah and PJAK.

Jundallah group (Soldiers of Allah) - the organization of the Baluchi Sunni - was established in 2003 and operates both in the Iranian and Pakistani Baluchistan. Iranian authorities accuse Jundallah of mass killings, armed robberies, kidnappings, bombings and sabotage. Tehran argues that Jundallah is connected with the secret services of the U.S. and the UK.

The Iranian wing of the Kurdish faction of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) is active in the Iranian province of Kurdistan. The goal of the group is the secession of Kurdistan from Iran.

According to the U.S. authorities, acting on the Iranian-Turkish and the Iranian-Iraqi borders the PJAK Party is controlled by the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

In February 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department included PJAK into the list of terrorist groups. In addition, financial sanctions were imposed against it.

The U.S. Department of State official said Washington has repeatedly stated, and reiterate again that the United States has not provided support to Jundallah
"We have also encouraged other governments to take comparable actions against Jundallah," he said.

The U.S. Department of State official said that the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton designated Jundallah as a Foreign Terrorist Group last year because of the organization’s terrorist activities.

"This is not the first designation of an Iranian group opposed to the Iranian government; we designated the Mujahadin-e-Khalq Organization (MEK) in 1997 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and in 2001 under Executive Order 13224; and the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) in 2009 under Executive Order 13224," the official said.

Mujahadin-e-Khalq is responsible for killing a large number of Iranian officials and civilians and was designated as a terrorist organization by many countries, including the United States.
In November 2010, the European Parliament issued a statement calling to remove Mujahadin-e-Khalq from the list of foreign terrorist organizations compiled by Washington. In 2009, the European Union removed Mujahadin-e-Khalq from its black list.

The U.S. Department of State official said Washington welcomes Iran’s constructive participation with its neighbors, but shares the view of many states that Iran’s actions are not consistent with what is in the region’s best interests.

"Iran was designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2010, he said. - Iran’s financial, material, and logistic support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened economic stability in the Gulf, and undermined the growth of democracy".


/Trend/