Politics

US' New Counterterrorism Strategy Targets Iran, 'Islamist Terrorists'

The new strategy is in keeping with the Trump administration's hard-line stance on Iran.

US' New Counterterrorism Strategy Targets Iran, 'Islamist Terrorists'
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In announcing The White House's new strategy for counterterrorism Thursday, national security adviser John Bolton highlighted its contrasts with the Obama administration's approach.

The new strategy repeatedly mentions "radical Islamist terrorists," something the 2011 document avoided entirely. And while the 2011 strategy made just one mention of Iran, the Trump administration's approach brings up Iran and Iran-sponsored terrorism throughout.

That's in keeping with the hard-line stance the White House has taken toward the country since President Donald Trump took office. In May, the president announced the U.S. was pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Bolton said at a briefing Wednesday: "Iran is a rogue regime. It has been a threat throughout the Middle East."

The White House also withdrew from a 1955 treaty with Iran on Wednesday, after the country argued the U.S. had violated that treaty by withdrawing from the nuclear deal. 

Additional reporting by Newsy affiliate CNN.