Trump names Iran’s IRGC terror organization, downplaying risks to US troops, Iraq stability
Critics warn that the US administration's announcement to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization could escalate risks to US troops and reduce chances for future diplomacy.
WASHINGTON — In a move critics warned could escalate risks to US troops and reduce chances for future diplomacy, the Trump administration today announced its intent to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization.
The action, due to go into effect in a week’s time, marks the first time the United States has designated a foreign government entity as a terrorist group, US officials said.
“We’re doing [it] because the Iranian regime’s use of terrorism as a tool of statecraft makes it fundamentally different from any other government,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in remarks announcing the decision at the State Department today. “This historic step will deprive the world’s leading state sponsor of terror the financial means to spread misery and death around the world.”
But former US diplomats who served in the region said the designation will add little new economic pressure to Iran while potentially generating an anti-US backlash in Iraq.
