Speculation is increasing that the United States could agree to Iran’s demand
to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from its list of


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Concern Mounting That U.S. Will Lift Terror Designation Against IRGC For
Nuclear Deal

 

(New York, N.Y.) — Speculation is increasing that the United States could
agree to Iran’s demand to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations as a condition of a nuclear
agreement. Senior officials in Israel including Prime MinisterNaftali Bennett
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and Foreign MinisterYair Lapid
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are warning that Iran is “now asking to let the biggest terror organization on
earth off the hook.” The IRGC is Iran’s main link to its terrorist proxies and
is responsible for plotting or executing attacks on military personnel,
diplomats, and civilians around the globe.

 

In October 2017, the U.S. government labeled the IRGC as a Specially
Designated Global Terrorist, citing support for its Quds Force as well as
Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Taliban. This action was followed by an April 2019
decision by the U.S. Department of State to add the IRGC to its list of
U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. In so doing, the United States
opened the possibility of levying additional sanctions on IRGC-related
businesses, which reportedly dominate the Iranian economy. Outside its borders,
Iran utilizes front companies to facilitate the flow of money to the IRGC,
which then provides financing to Iran’s terror proxies.

 

In January 2020, a U.S. airstrike in Iraq killed Major General Qasem
Soleimani, then the commander of IRGC-Quds Force. At the time of his death,
Soleimani was accused by the United States of commanding militants responsible
for the deaths of more than 500 U.S. service members in Iraq between 2005 and
2011. Soleimani was also reportedly linked by U.S. intelligence to a 2011
assassination attempt of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States in
Washington. Following Soleimani’s death, Iran appointed Ismail Ghaani as the
new head of the Quds Force. However, Ghaani has allegedly been unable to exert
the same influence over Iran’s proxies as Soleimani, creating opportunities for
other parts of Iran’s proxy network—for example, Hezbollah—to assume larger
roles in managing Iran-backed militant groups in the region.

 

To read the Counter Extremism Project (CEP)’s resource IRGC (Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps), please click here
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.

 

To read the CEP resource Ismail Ghaani, please click here
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To read the CEP resource Qasem Soleimani, please click here
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