If you’re concerned that the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism has been expanding its strategic footprint in the Western Hemisphere, the Obama administration has a reassuring message for you: “Iranian influence in Latin America and the Caribbean is waning.” That’s the conclusion of a State Department report issued late last month. (The report itself is classified, but Foggy Bottom released an unclassified summary of its policy recommendations, from which the above quote is taken.)
The timing of this report was rather awkward. A few weeks earlier, Argentine special prosecutor Alberto Nisman had unveiled a massive, 500-page dossier exploring Iran’s hemispheric terror links and its broader strategy for exporting violent revolution. (An English-language summary can be found here.) Nisman’s findings suggest that the State Department might want to reconsider its assumptions about Iranian influence in the Americas.
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