Threat Environment: Middle East & Central Asia

Haqqani Network; Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami; Islamic Jihad Union (IJU); Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi; Lashkar-e Tayyiba; al-Qa ida; al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS); Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) note 1: as of 2024, Afghanistan was assessed to be a place of global significance for terrorism, with approximately 20 designated and non-designated terrorist groups operating in the country note 2: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

USG identification: major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit country major precursor-chemical producer (2025)

tier rating: Tier 3 Afghanistan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Afghanistan remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/afghanistan/

refugees: 21,236 (2024 est.) IDPs: 5,457,183 (2024 est.)

al-Ashtar Brigades; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force note 1: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide note 2: in addition to the al-Ashtar Brigades and the IRGC/Qods Force, Saraya al-Mukhtar (aka The Mukhtar Brigade) is an Iran-backed terrorist organization based in Bahrain, reportedly receiving financial and logistic support from the IRGC; Saraya al-Mukhtar's self-described goal is to depose the Bahraini Government with the intention of paving the way for Iran to exert greater influence in Bahrain; the group was designated by the US as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in Dec 2020

refugees: 371 (2024 est.)

Army of Islam; Harakat Sawa'd Misr (HASM); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham Sinai Province (ISIS-SP); al-Qa ida note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 876,962 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 5 (2024 est.)

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); al-Qa ida note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

tier rating: Tier 3 Iran does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Iran remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/iran/

refugees: 3,489,257 (2024 est.) IDPs: 421 (2024 est.)

Ansar al-Islam; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Harakat al-Nujaba (HAN); Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kata ib al-Imam Ali (KIA); Kata ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS); Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 335,343 (2024 est.) IDPs: 1,201,813 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 233 (2024 est.)

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ); HAMAS note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 27,413 (2024 est.) IDPs: 68,000 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 35 (2024 est.)

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 675,388 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 17 (2024 est.)

refugees: 66,152 (2024 est.) IDPs: 0 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 7,865 (2024 est.)

refugees: 1,271 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 92,000 (2024 est.)

US-designated foreign terrorist groups such as the Islamic Jihad Union, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province have operated in the area where the Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik borders converge and ill-defined and porous borders allow for the relatively free movement of people and illicit goods

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking compared with the previous reporting period, therefore Kyrgyzstan remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/kyrgyz-republic/

refugees: 25,413 (2024 est.) IDPs: 12 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 925 (2024 est.)

Abdallah Azzam Brigades; al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade; Asbat al-Ansar; HAMAS; Hizballah; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Palestine Liberation Front (PLF); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 765,390 (2024 est.) IDPs: 984,514 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 40,000 (2024 est.)

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 714 (2024 est.)

al-Qa ida; al-Qa ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS); Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA); Haqqani Network (HQN); Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI); Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Hizbul Mujahideen; Indian Mujahedeen; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham India (ISI); Islamic State of ash-Sham Pakistan (ISP); Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU); Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM); Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ); Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT); The Resistance Front (TRF); Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) note 1: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide note 2: the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), an armed separatist group that targets security forces and civilians, has been active in Pakistan since the 2000s, mainly in ethnic Baloch areas of the country; in 2019, the US designated BLA as Specially Designated Global Terrorists

USG identification: major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit country major precursor-chemical producer (2025)

refugees: 1,759,332 (2024 est.) IDPs: 224,813 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 60 (2024 est.)

refugees: 349 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 1,200 (2024 est.)

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); al-Qa ida note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 4,355 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 70,000 (2024 est.)

Abdallah Azzam Brigades; Ansar al-Islam; Asa ib Ahl Al-Haq; Hizballah; Hurras al-Din; Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); al-Qa'ida; Palestine Liberation Front (PLF); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); PFLP-General Command (PLFP-GC) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

tier rating: Tier 3 Syria does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Syria remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/syria/

refugees: 16,402 (2024 est.) IDPs: 7,408,809 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 160,000 (2024 est.)

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note 1: US-designated foreign terrorist groups such as the Islamic Jihad Union, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province have operated in the area where the Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik borders converge and ill-defined and porous borders allow for the relatively free movement of people and illicit goods note 2: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 15,191 (2024 est.) IDPs: 238 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 4,466 (2024 est.)

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List Turkmenistan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so, therefore Turkmenistan was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/turkmenistan/

refugees: 3,409 (2024 est.)

USG identification: major precursor-chemical producer (2025)

refugees: 7,634 (2024 est.)

Islamic Jihad Union (IJU); Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Khorasan (ISIS-K) note 1: these groups have typically been active in the area where the Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik borders converge and ill-defined and porous borders allow for the relatively free movement of people and illicit goods note 2: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 8,505 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 20,000 (2024 est.)

Ansarallah (Houthis); Hizballah; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) - Yemen; al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

tier rating: Special Case; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/yemen/

refugees: 60,921 (2024 est.) IDPs: 4,795,983 (2024 est.)