Is Iran the 'Leading State Sponsor of Terrorism?' (w/ John Kiriakou) | The Chris Hedges Report

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Apr 3, 2026

John Kiriakou, former CIA analyst and whistleblower on the agency's torture program. He discusses whether Iran’s support for proxies differs from longstanding US proxy practices. Short, sharp takes on terrorism versus liberation, Israel’s covert tactics, the MEK’s rehabilitation, and how labeling nations politicizes the term "state sponsor of terror."

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INSIGHT

Resistance Groups Often Begin As Liberation Movements

John Kiriakou argues many groups labeled terrorists began as national liberation movements rather than nihilistic killers.
He cites Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis arising to resist occupation or repression, not to spread indiscriminate terror.

INSIGHT

U.S. Also Supported Violent Proxies Historically

Kiriakou compares Iranian proxy support to longstanding U.S. use of proxies that committed terrorist acts.
He lists CIA-backed anti-Castro bombings, Latin American death squads, the Contras, and armed Iraqi militias as parallels.

INSIGHT

Terrorism Label Has Become Politically Weaponized

Kiriakou says the terrorism label has been politicized and used as a cudgel against disliked states, eroding its meaning.
He argues that if consistently applied it would implicate allies like Saudi Arabia, Israel, and others for violent acts.

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In an attempt to justify and garner popular support for the American-Israeli war on Iran, the Trump administration is pressuring its allied nations to join the US in designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as the world’s greatest sponsor of state terrorism. The administration points to Iran’s participation in the Axis of Resistance, which includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine and Ansar Allah in Yemen, as evidence for its position. This raises the question of whether Iran, by supporting proxy organizations, is doing anything differently from what US intelligence agencies have done for many decades.

To answer this question, Chris Hedges speaks with John Kiriakou, a former CIA analyst and counterterrorism operations officer who worked in West Asia. Kiriakou is known for blowing the whistle on the CIA’s torture program, for which he was the sixth person convicted under the Espionage Act. In this interview, Kiriakou makes the distinction between organizations that carry out terrorism and those that are fighting for national liberation from foreign oppressors.

Kiriakou explains that throughout recent history, many countries or organizations backed by the United States have engaged in terrorist acts, and that the US has used the terrorist designation “as a cudgel against countries that we don’t like or whose policies we disagree with,” making the designation lose its meaning.

Hedges and Kiriakou discuss US support for terrorists, including the State of Israel, which Kiriakou calls “an extreme example” of an entity that uses violence, and the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), a “cult” co-founded by Maryam Rahjavi, an Iranian who opposes the Islamic Republic of Iran and who has cultivated strong ties with both Democrats and Republicans in the US.

They conclude the interview with an analysis of the current US-Israel war on Iran and how it plays a part in Israel’s goal to create chaos in the region. Kiriakou laments that the US has missed many opportunities to partner with Iran in curbing terrorism and narcotics production. He warns that the US’ aggression against Iran will likely result in unintended blowback.