"State Sponsors of Terrorism" is a designation applied to countries that are alleged to have "repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism" per the United States Department of State. Inclusion on the list enables the United States government to impose four main types of unilateral sanctions: a restriction of foreign aid, a ban on weapons sales, heightened control over the export of dual-use equipment, and other miscellaneous economic sanctions. The State Department is required to maintain the list under section 1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act.
In 1979, the first such list was published by the State Department, designating Iraq, Libya, South Yemen, and Syria as terrorist states.
, the list consists of Cuba, Iran and North Korea.
Timeline Timeline: U.S. State Department's "State Sponsors of Terrorism" 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456 Syria Syria Iraq Iraq
Countries currently on the list
Cuba (1982–2015, 2021–present) Cuba was added to the list on March 1, 1982, on the basis that it has a history of supporting revolutionary movements in Spanish-speaking countries and Africa.
Havana openly advocates armed revolution as the only means for leftist forces to gain power in Latin America, and the Cubans have played an important role in facilitating the movement of men and weapons into the region. Havana provides direct support in the form of training, arms, safe havens, and advice to a wide variety of guerrilla groups. Many of these groups engage in terrorist operations.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Cuba "encouraged terrorism in the hope of provoking indiscriminate violence and repression, in order to weaken government legitimacy and attract new converts to armed struggle". In 1992, after the Soviet collapse, Fidel Castro stressed that his country's support for insurgents abroad was a thing of the past.
According to Country Reports on Terrorism 2010: August 18, 2011:
On December 17, 2014, an agreement to restore relations with Cuba was reached (Cuban thaw); President Barack Obama instructed the Secretary of State to immediately launch a review of Cuba's inclusion on the list, and provide a report to the President within six months regarding Cuba's alleged support for international terrorism. President Barack Obama announced on April 14, 2015, that Cuba was being removed from the list. Cuba would not come off the list until after a 45-day review period, during which the U.S. Congress could try blocking Cuba's removal via a joint resolution. Congress did not act, and Cuba was officially removed from the list on May 29, 2015.
Cuba was readded to the list on January 12, 2021, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo citing "repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism" by harboring U.S. fugitives as well as Colombian rebel leaders. Cuba's support for Nicolás Maduro in the presidential crisis, knowing the Maduro administration created "a permissive environment for international terrorists to live and thrive within Venezuela" was another reason for the redesignation. The redesignation came just eight days before Donald Trump's first presidency ended on January 20 at noon.
On January 14, 2025, U.S. President Joe Biden notified Congress of his proposed removal of Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. The proposed removal was part of a Vatican-brokered deal that would see the release of 553 prisoners detained for "diverse crimes", including those arrested during the 2021 Cuban anti-government protests. According to a senior official of the Biden administration, an assessment on Cuba had been completed and found that there was no information supporting Cuba's designation. However, on January 20, 2025, succeeding President Donald Trump revoked the proposed removal of Cuba from the list. The proposed removal never took effect as it required a waiting period of 45 days, which would have been on February 28, 2025.(c)(4)(B)
Iran (1984–present) Iran was added to the list on January 19, 1984. According to Country Reports on Terrorism 2013, this was due to its support of various proxies.
Mike Pompeo issued an official statement as the US Secretary of State on 12 January 2021, stating, "al-Qaeda has a new home base: it is the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Amid the 2026 Iran war, the United States House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution reaffirming that Iran remains the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism; the measure passed by a 372–53 vote.
North Korea (1988–2008, 2017–present) North Korea was added in 1988, following the 1987 bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 near Myanmar and re-listed again in 2017. North Korea was initially added because it sold weapons to terrorist groups and gave asylum to Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction members. The country is also responsible for the Rangoon bombing.
According to Country Reports on Terrorism: April 30, 2007:
Terrorology specialist Gus Martin writes in his Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives and Issues that "the State Department's list includes countries that have significantly reduced their involvement in terrorism, such as North Korea and Cuba. For example, North Korea was at one time quite active in attacking South Korean interests. In November 1987, North Korean operatives apparently destroyed Korean Airlines Flight 858, which exploded in Myanmar (Burma). The North Korean government has since renounced its sponsorship of terrorism."
On April 13, 2008, Pyongyang agreed to dismantle the Yongbyon facility as part of an aid-for-disarmament deal. In response, on June 26, 2008, President George W. Bush announced that he would remove North Korea from the list. On October 11, the country was officially removed from the list for meeting all nuclear inspection requirements. The U.S State Department said it made the decision as Pyongyang had agreed to the verification of all of its nuclear programs, etc.
Despite requests from the South Korean government to put North Korea back on the list after it allegedly sank the Navy ship the ROKS Cheonan in 2010, the Obama administration stated that it would not do so because the act was conducted by only the North Korean military and was thus not an act of terror. However, following the incident, the Obama administration also stated that it would then closely monitor North Korea for signs for a return to international terrorism. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J Crowley also said that returning North Korea to the list was under continual review.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated in 2009 that she was considering renaming North Korea on the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism. As of 2016, North Korea, unlike the other countries removed and the designated state sponsor of terrorism Sudan, was still listed as not fully cooperating with the United States to fight terrorism.
In February 2017, following the alleged state-sponsored murder of Kim Jong-nam (Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother) using the nerve agent VX (banned under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, a convention which the North Korean government has not signed), pressure was placed on the Trump administration to revoke Bush's lifting of sanctions. In April 2017, U.S. Congress backed a bill to reinstate North Korea as a state sponsor of terror following the 2017 Shayrat missile strike in Syria, which North Korea had condemned vehemently. In August of the same year, the nation launched a missile that flew over Hokkaido, Japan, promoting severe condemnation from other states. In September, the parents of Otto Warmbier, who had died after being imprisoned in the nation, stated that they want North Korea to be relisted for his apparent murder. On November 20, 2017, President Trump officially announced the re-listing of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Countries under discussion Afghanistan On July 25, 2024, Representative Nancy Mace introduced the Preventing the Recognition of Terrorist States Act (H.R. 9163), a bill that would require the U.S. Secretary of State to designate the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban-led government, as a state sponsor of terrorism. The legislation also prohibits any form of diplomatic recognition or assistance that could legitimize the Taliban regime, citing its ties to U.S.-designated terrorist figures.
Russia In May 2022, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced the introduction of a resolution calling on the Biden administration to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism for its war on Ukraine and conduct elsewhere under Vladimir Putin. "Putin is a terrorist, and one of the most disruptive forces on the planet is Putin's Russia," said Graham, introducing the resolution. However, in September the same year, President Biden decided not to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, saying that the move could backfire by jeopardizing American support for Ukraine.
Venezuela In November 2018, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was planning to designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism due to the government's purported ties to Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Despite the reports, Venezuela has not been added to the list as of 2026 since its leader Nicolás Maduro was captured by US forces and flown to New York to face narco-terrorism charges.
Countries that have been removed Iraq (1979–1982, 1990–2004) Iraq, then under the rule of Saddam Hussein, was added to the list on December 29, 1979. Iraq had sheltered several militant groups during the 1980s, such as the Palestinian Liberation Front, and others. It was removed in February 1982 to allow U.S. aid to Iraq while it was fighting Iran in the Iran–Iraq War.Confrontation in the Gulf; U.S. Aid Helped Hussein's Climb; Now, Critics Say, the Bill Is Due The New York Times, Aug 13, 1990.R. Gregory Nokes, "U.S. Adds Cuba, Drops Iraq from Terrorism List", Associated Press. February 26, 1982. It was re-added on September 13, 1990, following its invasion of Kuwait. In 1993, Iraq's intelligence service attempted to assassinate former U.S. President George Bush and Kuwait's Emir with a car bomb, but Kuwaiti authorities foiled the plot and arrested 16 suspects, including two Iraqis. Following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and toppling of President Saddam Hussein, Iraq was removed from the list on October 25, 2004, after receiving assurances from the Iraqi interim government that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.
Libya (1979–2006) Libya was added on December 29, 1979. Then under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, it was branded a sponsor of terrorism due to the government's support for several left-wing militant groups; including the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the Basque Fatherland and Liberty, the Umkhonto We Sizwe, the Polisario Front, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Free Aceh Movement, Free Papua Movement, Fretilin, Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, Republic of South Maluku and the Moro National Liberation Front of the Philippines. On May 15, 2006, the United States announced that Libya would be removed from the list after a 45-day wait period. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice explained that this was due to "...Libya's continued commitment to its renunciation of terrorism".
South Yemen (1979–1990)