WASHINGTON DC – U.S. President Donald Trump, as widely foreshadowed over the weekend, on Monday announced his administration's plan to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
It is the first time the United States has ever named a part of another government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The announcement comes on the eve of the Israeli elections being held on Tuesday with Mr Trump's closest ally, Benjamin Netanyahu, battling to win re-election.
"This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, recognizes 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," Mr Trump said Monday.
"This designation will be the first time that the United States has ever named a part of another government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It underscores the fact that Iran’s actions are fundamentally different from those of other governments. This action will significantly expand the scope and scale of our maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. 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 president said.
"This action sends a clear message to Tehran that its support for terrorism has serious consequences. We will continue to increase financial pressure and raise the costs on the Iranian regime for its support of terrorist activity until it abandons its malign and outlaw behavior," he added.
Iran was strong in its condemnation of the move.
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei praised the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps as a major force at the front line of the fight against enemies. He told a group of IRGC personnel and their families in Tehran on Monday night that the U.S. enmity towards the IRGC results from the elite force’s leading role in defending the country.
"A misguided election-eve gift to Netanyahu. A dangerous US misadventure in the region," Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi condemned the U.S. move and said Iran would reciprocate the action. "The recent decision by the US can have many consequences and from now on, the Americans in their bases in the region are not soldiers any longer but in our view, these bases will be known as terrorist bases and forces stationed there are regarded as terrorists," he told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) unit on Monday night.