Trump Accuses Iran of Carrying Out Terrorist Attacks in 25 Countries Across 5 Continents

Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate for the U.S. presidential election, during a speech for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), accused Iran of carrying out terrorist attacks in 25 countries across five continents. The American publication PolitiFact reported on Tuesday, April 3, that Trump took a strong stance against Iran at the AIPAC gathering. According to the report, Mr. Trump stated, "Iran has established terrorist groups around the world... In the past five years, Iran has orchestrated terrorist attacks in 25 different countries across five continents. They have terrorist units everywhere, including in the Western Hemisphere, very close to our homeland." He then labeled Iran as the "largest supporter of terrorism in the world" and emphasized that it must be prevented from achieving its goals. PolitiFact, which fact-checks statements made by members of Congress and the White House, attempted to verify Trump's claims regarding whether Iran specifically conducted terrorist operations in 25 different countries across five continents in the past five years. The report notes that Trump's campaign declined to answer questions regarding this investigation, but PolitiFact found that the source of his statements was the Israeli government. According to the publication, the Israeli embassy in Washington released a report in April 2015, accompanied by a world map, detailing Iran's military activities and those of its supported groups worldwide. The embassy also tweeted in the fall of 2015 with an infographic titled: "A Look at Iran's Terrorist Activities (Last 4 Years): 5 Continents, 25 Countries." Meanwhile, Iran remains one of three countries that the United States categorizes as state sponsors of terrorism, with the U.S. State Department emphasizing that Iran has supported terrorist activities in Gaza, Lebanon, and other parts of the Middle East. The State Department also stated that while Iran's primary efforts have been focused on the Middle East, particularly Syria, Iran and its supported groups continue their efforts to expand influence in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. From this perspective, PolitiFact confirms Trump's statements regarding "Iran's support for terrorism," but seeks to challenge the accuracy of his claim that Iran has conducted terrorist attacks in 25 different countries. The publication states that even the Israeli embassy's tweet was milder than Trump's statements, as it referred to "Iran's terrorist activities" globally rather than "terrorist attacks." In a sense, if we consider all the cases mentioned by the Israeli embassy, we find that the number of attacks that occurred is less than this, involving only five cases that resulted in fatalities and where Iran is suspected to be involved, namely the attacks in Bahrain, Bulgaria, India, Georgia, and Thailand. Additionally, six of the attacks referenced by the Israeli embassy were thwarted. Other cases mentioned by Israel pertain more to Iran's involvement and influence in other countries and governments rather than terrorist attacks. Therefore, based on PolitiFact's assessment, only half of Donald Trump's statements were accurate and precise.