Obama Administration Acknowledges Iran’s Terror Ties Amid Nuclear Talks

The Obama administration has emphasized the fact that the nuclear negotiations are separate from other geopolitical matters dealing with Iran, a line repeated Friday by Tina Kaidanow, ambassador-at-large and coordinator for counterterrorism.

 

“I think we’ve been very clear that [the negotiations] we consider important. It has a context – a specific context. We think it’s essential that we pursue those negotiations,” Kaidanow said in a briefing for reporters. “But that said, none of that implies that we would be, again, in any way taking our eye off the ball with respect to what Iran is doing as a supporter of terrorism. We have sanctions in place against Iran specifically related to the terrorism issue. That’s not going to change.”

 

Overall, the 2014 report found that terrorist attacks worldwide increased 35 percent and fatalities increased 81 percent over the previous year. Seventy-eight percent of fatalities took place in five countries: Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria. Attacks have also gotten more lethal, with 20 attacks in 2014 killing more than 100 people, while only two such attacks took place in 2013. The report, which is mandated by Congress, is heavy with details of last year’s rise of the Islamic State group and its “unprecedented” seizure of territory.

 

Read More: Obama Administration Acknowledges Iran’s Terror Ties Amid Nuclear Talks – US News