The report also discusses terrorist actions against Iran, citing at length the activities of the Baluchi rebel band named Jundollah. It does not mention any actions of Arab and Kurdish rebel groups inside Iran last year.
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IRAN
Overview: Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2010. 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 [Persian] Gulf, and undermined the growth of democracy.
In 2010, Iran remained the principal supporter of groups implacably opposed to the Middle East Peace Process. The Qods Force, the external operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is the regime’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorists abroad.
Iran provided weapons, training, and funding to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, including the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, Iran has assisted Hezbollah in rearming, in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Iran has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Hezbollah in Lebanon and has trained thousands of Hezbollah fighters at camps in Iran.
Iran’s Qods Force provided training to the Taliban in Afghanistan on small unit tactics, small arms, explosives, and indirect fire weapons, such as mortars, artillery, and rockets. Since at least 2006, Iran has arranged arms shipments to select Taliban members, including small arms and associated ammunition, rocket propelled grenades, mortar rounds, 107mm rockets, and plastic explosives. Iran has shipped a large number of weapons to Qandahar, Afghanistan, aiming to increase its influence in the country.
Despite its pledge to support the stabilization of Iraq, Iranian authorities continued to provide lethal support, including weapons, training, funding and guidance to Iraqi Shia militant groups that target US and Iraqi forces. The Qods Force continued to supply Iraqi militants with Iranian-produced advanced rockets, sniper rifles, automatic weapons, and mortars that have killed Iraqi and Coalition Forces, as well as civilians.
Iran was responsible for the increased lethality of some attacks on US forces by providing militants with the capability to assemble explosives designed to defeat armored vehicles. The Qods Force, in concert with Lebanese Hezbollah, provided training outside of Iraq as well as advisors inside Iraq for Shia militants in the construction and use of sophisticated improvised explosive device technology and other advanced weaponry.
Domestic Terrorism/Terrorist Incidents: Jundollah, a terrorist organization that operated primarily in the province of Sistan va Baluchestan of Iran, has engaged in numerous terrorist attacks within Iran. Jundollah’s primary target is the Iranian regime; however, it has also attacked many civilians.
Since its inception in 2003, these attacks have resulted in the death and maiming of scores of Iranian civilians and government officials. Jundollah has used a variety of terrorist tactics, including suicide bombings, ambushes, kidnapings, and targeted assassinations. Following the February 2010 capture and execution by Iranian authorities of Jundollah’s leader, Abdulmalik Rigi, the group selected a new leader, Mohammed Dhahir Baluch, and confirmed its commitment to continue its terrorist activities.
In July, Jundollah attacked the Grand Mosque in Zahedan, killing approximately 30 and injuring hundreds. On December 15, Jundollah claimed credit for another attack in the Southeastern city of Chabahar, where two suicide bombs killed at least 39 and wounded more than 100 people. In November, the United States designated Jundollah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Legislation and Law Enforcement: In 2010, Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior al-Qaeda (AQ) members it continued to detain, and refused to publicly identify those senior members in its custody. Iran has repeatedly resisted numerous calls to transfer custody of its AQ detainees to their countries of origin or third countries for trial.
In June, Iranian authorities executed former Jundollah leader Abdulmalik Rigi. In December, Iranian authorities executed 11 members of Jundollah reportedly connected to the July mosque attack.
