In its recommendation to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom also wanted Myanmar, China and North Korea to be kept in the department's ‘country of particular concern’ blacklist together with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Eritrea and Uzbekistan.

The independent commission, set up by US law to monitor religious freedom across the globe, also maintained Afghanistan and Bangladesh in its watch list together with Belarus, Cuba, Egypt and Nigeria.

The 10-member panel was divided whether to downgrade predominantly Muslim Iraq, where widespread persecution of Christians has been reported, to the blacklist from the watch list, saying it needed more time to make the decision.

The commission makes an annual recommendation to the State Department ahead of its compilation of its annual report on international religious freedom.

The panel wanted Vietnam to be reincluded in the department's blacklist, saying the government continued to imprison and detain dozens of individuals advocating for religious freedom reforms in the communist-led state.