Brennan: Iran Must Take More Actions in the Fight Against Terrorism

John Brennan, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), stated on Wednesday that although Iran has taken actions against the Islamic State (ISIS), Tehran needs to do more in this regard. In an interview with Judy Woodruff, a PBS journalist, and in response to the question of whether he agrees with John Kerry's remarks about Iran's usefulness in the fight against ISIS in Iraq, he said: 'I think Iran has a lot of interests in taking any action to prevent the growth of ISIS in the region, as ISIS is particularly anti-Shia.' He added that there are actions Iran can take, and it has already taken steps to prevent the further spread of ISIS. However, Brennan emphasized that Iran also engages in many actions that contribute to the spread of terrorism and is currently the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. The U.S. State Department, in its annual report on the state of 'global terrorism,' identified the Islamic Republic of Iran as 'the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world' in 2015. The report stated that Iran is recognized as the largest state sponsor of terrorism globally by providing financial support, training, and equipping extremist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Nonetheless, the PBS journalist asked Brennan for a general assessment of whether Iran is useful in combating terrorist groups. Brennan responded that overall, he thinks they (the Iranians) need to do more. He believes they have taken actions so far, but they need to demonstrate their commitment to defeating these terrorist groups and work with regional and neighboring countries to effectively eliminate these groups. On Tuesday, John Kerry stated that Iran's presence in Iraq has been beneficial in some ways and that it is clear they are focused on ISIS in Iraq, indicating that there are shared interests. Earlier, on June 13, Brennan expressed concern about Iran's actions in the region in an interview with Al Arabiya, stating that his agency has had no contact with Iran in the fight against ISIS. However, he reiterated his concerns about Iran's support for terrorist activities and groups, especially the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its activities in Iraq, Syria, and other countries in the region.