The U.S. State Department released its “Country Reports on Terrorism 2019”. In the report’s foreword, Ambassador Nathan Sales wrote that “the Iranian regime and its proxies continued to plot and commit terrorist attacks on a global scale… though its [ie, Iran’s] ability to provide financial support in 2019 was constrained by crippling U.S. sanctions”. Sales also suggested that Iran “continued to permit an Al-Qaeda facilitation network to operate in Iran, sending money and fighters to conflict zones in Afghanistan and Syria, and it still allowed AQ members to reside in the country”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson condemned the report “due to its obvious blame game, sheer dishonesty and double standards in the fight against terrorism”.