10 Facts About Iran Sponsoring Terrorism
7. Iraq Insurgency
Iranian proxies killed an estimated 1,100 US troops in Iraq. In addition, insurgents supported by Iran reportedly committed acts of terrorism. The United States State Department states that weapons are smuggled into Iraq and used to arm Iran’s allies among the Shiite militias, including those of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi army.
During his address to the United States Congress on September 11, 2007, Commanding officer for the United States forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus noted that the multinational forces in Iraq have found that Iran’s Quds force has provided training, equipment, funding, and direction to terrorists.
Dexter Filkins has described the extensive involvement of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani in arming and training both Sunni and Shi’ite militias in Iraq. According to a Western diplomats, Suleimani wanted to bleed the Americans, so he invited in the jihadis, and things got out of control.
