Washington is set to host an international gathering on July 16 to discuss growing concerns about political terrorism, the U.S. State Department has confirmed.
The Washington Post was first to report that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had invited dozens of his counterparts from around the world to discuss “transnational far-left terrorism.”
When reached for more details about the meeting plans, a State Department official told The Epoch Times that Rubio would host a ministerial meeting to discuss a “resurgence of political terrorism.” The official said Rubio would extend the invitation to ministers from more than 60 countries from across the Western Hemisphere, Europe, and Asia.
The official did not offer more details about the meeting agenda.
“The resurgence of violent far-left political terrorism is not a new phenomenon—it is an old threat re-emerging with strong transnational links and new convergences,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in an X post responding to The Washington Post.
“Because this threat has not been adequately addressed in the past, each engagement, designation, or security assistance program creates a compounding effect supporting countermeasures at home and abroad,” Pigott said. “Our efforts target violent activity meeting the definition of terrorism: assassinations, kidnappings, violent threats against U.S. facilities and law enforcement, as well as attacks on critical infrastructure, military personnel, and civilian population.”
Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has designated dozens of groups as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). Among the organizations marked with formal terrorism designations are Antifa Ost, the Informal Anarchist Federation/International Revolutionary Front, Armed Proletarian Justice, and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense. Those four left-wing cells are associated with the Antifa extremist group, which originated in the 1920s and functioned as the violent wing of Germany’s Communist Party to target political rivals.
The Antifa group labels its enemies as “fascist” and has been linked to violent tactics targeting individuals, organizations, and activities they oppose.
When announcing FTO designations against the four left-wing groups in November, the State Department linked the groups to violent assaults in Germany, as well as bomb plots in Europe, South America, and Asia.
Hungary has also designated Germany-based Antifa Ost as a terrorist organization, but the German government has not.
Other European governments have been hesitant to apply terrorism designations to Antifa and its various constituent groups and cells.
Although the new U.S. counter-terrorism document placed increased emphasis on threats from left-wing political actors, the document also pledged that counter-terrorism efforts “will be executed apolitically and founded upon reality-based threat assessments.”
Last year, the Trump administration removed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the list of FTOs. That move came after HTS drove former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad from power in late 2024 and formed a new interim government in Damascus.
During a meeting with Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on July 8 at the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said al-Sharaa had done a “really fantastic job” as president of Syria. He described al-Sharaa, who led HTS in the takeover, as a “strong person” and a “great leader” who is “respected by everybody.”
“He’s unified the country in a very short period of time,” Trump said. “We’re proud of the job he’s doing.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) urged the Trump administration last week to remove Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The U.S. state sponsor of terrorism list currently includes Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.
