Iran not source of jihadist terror, senior analyst says
Fareed Zakaria, a political analyst, has said that it is wildly inaccurate to describe Iran as the source of jihadist terror.
“Almost every terrorist attack in the West has had some connection to Saudi Arabia. Virtually none has been linked to Iran,” he wrote in an article published by Washington Post on Thursday.
He wrote, “According to an analysis of the Global Terrorism Database by Leif Wenar of King’s College London, more than 94 percent of deaths caused by Islamic terrorism since 2001 were perpetrated by the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other Sunni jihadists. Iran is fighting those groups, not fueling them.”
He also said that U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted the Saudi line on terrorism, which deflects any blame from the kingdom and redirects it toward Iran.
“The Saudis showered Trump’s inexperienced negotiators with attention, arms deals and donations to a World Bank fund that Ivanka Trump is championing,” he said.
Trump was visited Saudi Arabia on May 20-21 during which he claimed that Iran is a key sponsor of militant groups. On May 20, he signed a huge arms deal with the Saudis with a value of 110 billion dollars.
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