US President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on
Monday the State Department is designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps a Foreign Terrorist Organization, following months of speculation that
the administration was considering blacklisting the most famous branch of the
country's armed forces, the Washington Examiner reported.
Though the State Department has long
labeled the Iranian regime the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,
before today it had never classified an element of a foreign government as a
terrorist group. The IRGC joins a list that includes al Qaeda, Hezbollah,
Hamas, ISIS, and Boko Haram. It marks the latest move toward pressuring Iran
since the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
"It underscores the fact that Iran’s
actions are fundamentally different from those of other governments,"
President Trump said in a statement. "It makes crystal clear the risks of
conducting business with, or providing support to, the IRGC. If you are doing
business with the IRGC, you will be bankrolling terrorism."
The Revolutionary Guard is a powerful branch
of Iran’s armed forces and — along with its specialized Quds Force — supports
terrorists around the world, carries out cyberattacks and assassinations, funds
illicit missile development, and wields huge influence both inside the country
and around the region.
The IRGC also plays an integral role in
funding, training, and guiding Iran’s global proxies — including Hezbollah in
Lebanon, Shiite militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen — and in propping up
Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Pompeo told reporters the designation
will take effect on April 15. “This designation should surprise no one. For
forty years, the IRGC has engaged in terrorism," he said. "It
pretends to be a regular military organization, but none of us should be
fooled."
“With this designation, the Trump
administration is simply recognizing reality," he added. “Our designation
makes clear to the world that the IRGC not just supports other terrorist groups
but engages in terrorism itself.”
The Treasury Department started the
process in 2017 when it labeled the IRGC a Specially Designated Global
Terrorist, making it easier for the United States to combat Iran's terrorism by
targeting its financing.
President Trump has long considered
making this designation, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reportedly
wanted to label the IRGC a terrorist group since he accepted the job.