Region | Iran
US targets Iran's Revolutionary Guards
The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong military branch, as a "specially designated global terrorist," according to US officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group's business operations and finances.
- By Robin Wright, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
- Published: 23:36 August 15, 2007
Washington: The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong military branch, as a "specially designated global terrorist," according to US officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group's business operations and finances.
The Bush administration has chosen to move against the Revolutionary Guards because of what US officials describe as the group's growing involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as its support for militants throughout the Middle East, the sources said.
The decision follows congressional pressure on the administration to toughen its stance against Tehran as well as US frustration with the ineffectiveness of UN resolutions against Iran's nuclear programme, officials said. The designation of the Revolutionary Guards will be made under Executive Order 13224, which President Bush signed two weeks after 9/11 attacks, to obstruct terrorist funding.
The Guards would be the first national military branch included on the list, US officials said - a highly unusual move because it is part of a government, rather than a typical non-state terrorist organisation. The order allows the US to block the assets of terrorists and to disrupt operations by foreign businesses that "provide support, services or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists".
Clampdown on business
The main goal of the new designation is to clamp down on the Guards' vast business network, as well as on foreign companies conducting business linked to the military unit.
"Anyone doing business with these people will have to reevaluate their actions immediately," said a US official familiar with the plan.
Although discussions remain ongoing, the initial decision is to target the entire Guards Corps, US officials said. The administration has not yet decided when to announce the new measure. "[The Guards Corps] are heavily involved in everything from pharmaceuticals to telecom and pipelines ... and a great deal of smuggling. It's a huge business conglomeration," said Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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