US Quietly Removes Iran, Hezbollah From ‘Terror Threats’ List

Report Praises Iranian Attempts to 'Deescalate Tensions With Saudi Arabia'

Though there was no formal announcement of any policy change accompanying it, the latest Worldwide Threat Assessment, issued by the office of the Director of National Intelligence, conspicuously did not list either Iran or Hezbollah as terrorist threats to the United States.

The 2014 report declared both were direct threats to the US and its allies, and Iran had been given an entire segment of the terrorism section in the previous years.

This year, the assessment on Iran praised the nation for its attempts to “dampen sectarianism” and to “deescalate tensions with Saudi Arabia,” though they did warn that Iranian attempts to protect regional Shi’ites risked fueling a secfarian backlash against them.

Israeli officials said they believe the move is the result of a US shift toward a war with ISIS, against whom both Iran and Hezbollah are already fighting. Despite not being included in the threat assessment, Iran is still listed as a state-supporter of terrorism by the US State Department.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.