TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) censured the US for leveling accusations of sponsoring terrorism at Iran, describing it as a stark reminder of Washington’s dual approaches to dealing with terrorism.

Following the US State Department’s listing of Iran as a major ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ in its annual report on global terrorist activity, Ali Shamkhani said on Sunday that the measure signifies the West’s double standards on terrorism.

Reacting to the US measure, Shamkhani told reporters that such hostile moves are not unexpected by the US, which supported the Ba’ath Party during its imposed war on Iran in the 1980s, backed the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain, and created the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) as the fifth column of the Ba’athis.

He also derided the US decision to label Iran a sponsor of terrorism while refusing to blacklist the MKO terrorists, using the Daesh (ISIL) terrorists as a tool, and supporting the Zionist regime of Israel.

Back on Thursday, the State Department’s acting coordinator for counterterrorism, Justin Siberell, briefed reporters on the annual report’s content, claiming Iran “remained the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in 2015, providing a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world.”

By Tasnim News Agency