WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida is in decline around the world but it is still a leading threat to the United States, joined by others like Iran, the top U.S. intelligence official said today in an annual report to Congress on threats facing America.

Iran’s leaders seem prepared to attack U.S. interests overseas, particularly if they feel threatened by possible U.S. action, Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

But Clapper, CIA chief David Petraeus and others reasserted their stance that Iran is not building nuclear weapons, in contrast to Israeli officials’ statements that Iran could have nuclear capability within a year.

Al-Qaida and Iran are part of a mosaic of interconnected enemies the U.S. faces, including terrorists, criminals and foreign powers, who may try to strike via nuclear weapons or cyberspace, Clapper and the others said.

Al-Qaida still aspires to strike the U.S., but it will likely have to go for “smaller, simpler attacks” as its ranks are thinned by continued pressure from U.S. drone strikes and special operations raids since Osama bin Laden’s death at the hands of Navy SEALs in Pakistan last year, Clapper predicted.