BICOM

The US State Department yesterday designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO).

US President Donald Trump said in a statement: “This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, recognises the reality that Iran is not only a state sponsor of terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft. The IRGC is the Iranian government’s primary means of directing and implementing its global terrorist campaign.”

Trump continued: “This action will significantly expand the scope and scale of our maximum pressure on the Iranian regime,” Trump said. “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.”

As a result of the move, anyone who deals with the IRGC could be guilty of a criminal offence, including aiding or supporting a terrorist group. The designation will also block any foreign representatives of the IRGC or the companies it controls from entering or staying in the US. The IRGC includes an armed force of 100,000 personnel and manages Iran’s ballistic missile programmes. The organisation also controls large parts of Iran’s economy, around 20 per cent, including important sectors such as energy.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “The Trump administration is simply recognising a basic reality. The IRGC masquerades as a legitimate military organisation, but none of us should be fooled. It regularly violates the laws of armed conflict and plans, organises, and executes terror campaigns all around the world.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council responded by declaring that the US military was a terrorist group and the US regime a “sponsor of terrorism”. It said it held the US regime responsible for the “dangerous consequences of their adventurous move”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted to thank President Trump for the move.

Mark Dubowitz of Foundation for the Defense of Democracies said: “Lots of IRGC officials travel around the world. This would make them the target of potential prosecution, either in friendly foreign jurisdictions or through extradition back in the U.S.” The designation also would block any foreign representatives of the IRGC or the companies it controls from entering or staying in the U.S.

But Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute has downplayed the significance of the move, as the IRGC is already designated by the US government as a terrorist group.