Press TV - The US State Department�s annual Country Reports on Terrorism for 2017 is out. The report has been strongly denounced by critics as highly politicized and contradictory.

The annual report says terrorist attacks declined in 2017 largely because the Daesh terrorist group suffered major defeats in many countries like Iraq and Syria.

But the US�government report ironically describes Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism.

It�s no secret that Iran helped roll back Daesh advances in Iraq and Syria by supporting anti-terror efforts in those countries. �It was for the same success that Syria and Iraq openly thanked Iran for its efforts to root out terrorism.

Critics of the US foreign policy say the state Department�s annual survey lacks credibility since it is not based on facts and falls in line with America�s anti-Iran campaign.

Brecht Jonkers, a journalist at al-Masdar news agency told Press TV that it was hypocritical of the US to accuse Iran of sponsoring terrorism.
�The US speaks with a very hypocritical attitude. It should not very surprising that there�s a major hypocrisy when the United States has the audacity to accuse Iran of being main sponsor of terrorism in the world.�

The report comes as the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump is trying to pile pressure on Iranians.
�The US speaks with a very hypocritical attitude. It should not be very surprising that there�s a major hypocrisy when the United States has the audacity to accuse Iran of being the main sponsor of terrorism in the world.�

The report comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to pile pressure on Iranians.

The US�which withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May wants to force the country to come to the negotiating table again but Tehran says it cannot trust the Americans.

The US�State Department�s latest survey makes no mention of notorious names that come to mind whenever the issue of global terrorism is raised.

Saudi Arabia is perhaps the most prominent case in point. The kingdom�s support for extremist groups in the region and beyond is an open secret.

For instance, there are numerous reports that show the Saudis have cut deals with terror groups in Yemen in a bid to defeat Yemeni fighters.

Saudi Arabia and some of its regional allies are widely believed to have been the main sponsors of terror groups over the course of war in Syria.

But they never even get a slap on the wrist. The United States itself has long used extremist factions in many countries to advance its interests.

America�s support for militants in Afghanistan against the Soviets in the 1980�s and its support for anti-terror groups in Syria are some of many examples of this. All of these suggest that America has never been really serious in fighting terrorism and keeps employing outrageous double standards.