MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia does not see Iran as an exporter of terrorism as implied by the United States, a Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan said Thursday.
Zamir Kabulov, a former Russian ambassador in Kabul, said at a conference on international security in Moscow:
"We do not regard Iran as a country that exports terrorism."
In 1984, the United States designated Iran as a "state sponsor of terrorism." The US State Department accuses Tehran of using proxy militant groups to advance its foreign policy goals in the Middle East, and also of supporting militant groups in the region, like Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Most recently, Iran has been accused of arming Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has been torn apart by years of fighting between government troops, diverse opposition forces and criminal gangs. Iran has denied providing insurgents with military or financial support.
