Defined by the U.S. government, state sponsored terrorism includes one or more of the following:

• Acts of terror initiated by the organization to promote its own interests, with operational assistance from the state;
• Acts of terror initiated by the state to promote the interests of the state or a shared interest (at times with operational assistance from the state); or
• Acts of terror executed by the state or its agents in order to achieve its own interests.

The United States State Department lists seven nations as sponsors of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.