Iran will continue to fuel malign activities — including terror attacks against U.S. targets — and North Korea will cause disruption on the regional and world stages, the DNI report said. Despite weakened leadership, al-Qaida and the Islamic State could rebuild and prove to be threats.

“Major adversaries and competitors are enhancing and exercising their military, cyber, and other capabilities, raising the risks to U.S. and allied forces, weakening our conventional deterrence, and worsening the longstanding threat from weapons of mass destruction,” said the DNI, headed up by Avril Haines.

The report pointed to the pandemic as a challenge even as countries push to vaccinate against the novel coronavirus. It said the “political aftershocks” from the pandemic will be felt for years.