The strategy, unveiled by National Security Adviser John Bolton, is the first issued since 2011 when the Obama administration’s view of counterterrorism was focused almost exclusively on the threat posed by al Qaeda after the death of its founder, Osama bin Laden.
The priority given to Iran this time around reflects President Donald Trump’s drive to contain Iran’s influence in the Middle East, curtail its ballistic missile program and backing of extremist groups and force it to the negotiating table by re-imposing U.S. sanctions.
Iran was cited only once ‐ on the penultimate page ‐ of the 2011 counterterrorism strategy as an "active" state sponsor of "terrorism."
But the current document shows how the Trump administration has put Shi’ite Muslim Iran at the center of U.S. concerns, even as it keeps a focus on Sunni Muslim militant groups in Syria and Iraq.