State Departmentofficials this week said they will develop forCongressan assessment of Iranian-related threats in Central and South America, as required by a newlaw.
Iranhas serially defied the will of the international community and is a state sponsor of terrorism,State Departmentspokesman PeterVelascotold The Washington Times. We are fully aware that its presence in the [Western] hemisphere could have implications for our security and that of our neighbors.
President Obama signed the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act into law on Dec. 28.
It gives the secretary of state 180 days to provideCongresswith an assessment of Iranian activities in the hemisphere and calls on theState Departmentto lead the creation of a comprehensive government-wide strategy to counterIrans growing hostile presence and activity, primarily in Latin America.
Such a strategy involves working with U.S. allies in the region to deter threats posed by the Government ofIran, the Iranian IslamicRevolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC), theIRGC's Qods Force, andHezbollah.
Mr. Velascosaid department officials are in the process of reviewing the law and its requirements and will develop an implementation plan that is consistent with the law and our foreign policy objectives in the region.
Concern over Iranian activities in the Americas mounted in October 2011, when theJustice Departmentfiled charges that revealed a failed plot by Iranian officials to use a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate a Saudi diplomat in Washington.
Lawmakers expressed more concern in February, when Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper told a Senate committee thatIrancould try to launch terror attacks against targets inside the United States if it feels threatened.
Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Duncan, South Carolina Republican, legislation for the new law quickly picked up bipartisan support. Rep. Brian Higgins of New York was the bills chief Democratic co-sponsor.
But many Democrats and most policy analysts have voiced skepticism about some of the laws claims and cautioned against too eagerly framingIranas a global bogeyman amid increased tensions between Washington and Tehran over the Islam republics secretive nuclear program.
The law asserts thatIranhas established 11 embassies in Latin America, up from six in 2005, and that the Islamic republic has built 17 cultural centers in the Western Hemisphere.
Reports of Iranian intelligence agents being implicated inHezbollah-linked activities since the early 1990s suggest direct Iranian government support ofHezbollahactivities in the Tri-Border Area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, and in the past decade,Iranhas dramatically increased its diplomatic missions to Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Argentina, and Brazil, the law states.
It also states that Hezbollahand other Iranian proxies with a presence in Latin America have raised revenues through illicit activities, including drug and arms trafficking, counterfeiting, money laundering, forging travel documents, pirating software and music, and providing haven and assistance to other terrorists transiting the region.
The laws passage can be explained in part by a desire on both sides of the aisle for a more organized government effort to assess the legitimacy of such claims and devise a clear strategy for addressing them.