ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Trump administration accepted two State Department notices which allow US officials and businessmen to more closely interact with their counterparts in places like Iraq and Lebanon where the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is deeply entrenched.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo entered two notices of determination into the federal register — two days after sanctions against the IRGC took effect.
Following consultations with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, Pompeo determined sanctions targeting the IRGC “shall not apply to any ministry, department, agency, division, or other group or subgroup within any foreign government" that isn't otherwise sanctioned.
In last year's Iraqi election, heads of the Iran-funded militia leaders like Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali partnered with Hadi al-Amiri's Fatih Alliance to gain the second-most seats in the parliament.
Khazali himself has no official role in government, but interaction by US officials with his comrades could have put them in violation of Washington's new sanctions.
Kata'ib Hezbollah, tied to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, also is linked to IRGC. Some of the militias fought alongside the primarily Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias through the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS).
In Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi's coalition government, ministries like the interior yield great power and control the federal police which are still engaged in chasing down ISIS remnants.
The second notice says US sanctions won’t apply “to any business, organization, or group, whether public or private, solely based on its provision of material support to any foreign government sub-entity that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization” — also if not covered by other sanctions.
With both Iran and the United States so active diplomatically and in business matters in Iraq, there was concern that Trump's sanctions were too overbearing and would complicate work in the war-torn country.
“At first glance, it looks like a wise carve-out,” Daniel Fried, a former sanctions coordinator for the State Department who is now with The Atlantic Council told The Associated Press. “One of the rules of sanctions is that you need to account for unintended consequences and have wide licensing and waiver authority. Otherwise, if there are unintended consequences you find yourself unable to act.”
Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif claimed in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that war hawks and Israel are trying to pull Trump into a war.
“I don’t think he wants war,” Zarif said in an interview at the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York. “But that doesn’t exclude him being basically lured into one.”
The United States has a Strategic Framework Agreement with Iraq dating back to 2007. Additionally, the United States has more than 5,000 troops in Iraq to advise, train, and assist forces in the country through the efforts of the international coalition and NATO.
Following the US designation of the IRGC as a "foreign terrorist organization," Tehran reciprocated by doing the same to US Central Command. However, it continues to operate in Iraq and across the region.
“Iranians are allergic to pressure,” Zarif added, while speaking in New York on Wednesday.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, facing domestic turmoil and a fragile economy, says Tehran will only negotiate with Washington if the United States lifts pressure and apologizes.
Since the first round of sanctions was announced nearly a year ago, Iranian oil exports have been cut by 1.2 million bpd, according to the International Energy Agency.