Terror tag for Iran’s guards?
washington — US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a proposal that could lead to potentially designating Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, according to US officials familiar with the matter.
The officials said several US government agencies have been consulted about such a proposal, which if implemented would add to measures the United States has already imposed on individuals and entities linked to the IRGC.
The IRGC is by far Iran’s most powerful security entity, which also has control over large stakes in Iran’s economy and huge influence in its political system.
Reuters has not seen a copy of the proposal, which could come in the form of an executive order directing the State Department to consider designating the IRGC as a terrorist group. It is unclear whether Trump would sign such an order. —
washington — US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a proposal that could lead to potentially designating Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, according to US officials familiar with the matter.
The officials said several US government agencies have been consulted about such a proposal, which if implemented would add to measures the United States has already imposed on individuals and entities linked to the IRGC.
The IRGC is by far Iran’s most powerful security entity, which also has control over large stakes in Iran’s economy and huge influence in its political system.
The proposal could come in the form of an executive order directing the State Department to consider designating the IRGC as a terrorist group.
Naming Iran’s single most powerful military and political institution as a terrorist group could have potentially destabilising effects, including further inflaming regional conflicts in which the United States and regional arch-rivals blame Iran for interference. Iran denies those allegations.
It would also likely complicate the US fight against Daesh in Iraq, where Shia militias backed by Iran and advised by IRGC fighters are battling the militant group.
Some of Trump’s more hawkish advisers in the White House have been urging him to increase sanctions on Iran since his regime began to take shape. After tightening sanctions against Iran last week in response to a ballistic missile test, White House officials said the measures were an “initial” step.
The US has already blacklisted dozens of entities and people for affiliations with the IRGC. In 2007, the US Treasury designated the IRGC’s Quds Force, its elite unit in charge of its operations abroad, “for its support of terrorism”, and has said it is Iran’s “primary arm for executing its policy of supporting terrorist and insurgent groups”.
A designation of the entire IRGC as a terrorist group would potentially have much broader implications, including for the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated between Iran and the United States and other major world powers.
The nuclear deal, which has been harshly criticised by Republicans in Congress and Trump for giving Iran too much and not placing tight enough restrictions on the country, granted Iran relief from most Western sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.
It was reported last week that the IRGC designation is among the proposals being considered as part of an Iran policy review in the Trump regime. The objective would be to dissuade foreign investment in Iran’s economy, because of the IRGC’s involvement in major sectors including transportation and oil. In many cases, that involvement is hidden behind layers of opaque ownership. —