WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2019) US President Donald Trump took an unprecedented step when he announced that his administration will designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, marking the first time Washington issued this type of designation to a part of a foreign government.
The designations represent the latest action the United States has taken against Tehran since exiting the Iran nuclear agreement and reimposing sanctions last year, a decision that sparked conflicts between Washington and its European allies along with Russia.
The move also comes one day before Israel's parliamentary vote, which left critics to wonder if Trump was trying to ensure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's re-election.
"Today, I am formally announcing my administration's plan to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including its Quds Force, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act," Trump said in a press release on Monday.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later in the day clarified that the new designation would take effect on April 15.
Pompeo stressed that the administration's decision will increase the risk of doing business with Iran, especially on trade.
"If you're the general counsel for a European financial institution today, there's more risk," Pompeo told reporters during a press briefing. "[T]his will require more diligence to be done by every business that is considering doing things that are even now second and third orders from what you might think of as a traditional connection to the Iranian economy."
A senior US administration official noted in a conference call on Monday that the new designation will allow for the criminal prosecution of those providing material support to the IRGC. The official also called on other nations to join the US in labeling the IRGC a terrorist organization.
IRGC is a branch of Iran's Armed Forces founded in 1979 right after the Iranian Revolution replaced the monarchy in order to counter left-wing opposition groups.
Today the Revolutionary Guards have a wide range of aims such as domestic security, overseeing the activities of political, social, and non-governmental organizations, private companies and firms, preventing foreign interference, and controlling Islamic norms of life and morality.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry responded to the US announcement by proposing that the country's Supreme National Security Council include the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on its own list of terrorist organizations.
Tehran later followed through on its threat and declared CENTCOM as a terrorist organization and accused the US government of supporting terrorism.
The decision to label CENTCOM a terrorist organization resulted in muted responses from Washington.
A US Department of Defense spokesperson told Sputnik that Tehran's action does not constitute an imminent threat, while the Department of State declined to comment.
Globally, the US decision received mixed reviews. Syria, a strategic ally of Iran, strongly condemned Washington's action, calling it a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Iran, according to the country's Foreign Ministry.
But Bahrain and Israel, two US allies, welcomed the move. Bahrain became the first Arab country to support the step when its Foreign Ministry thanked Washington in a statement for confronting Iran's hostile and terrorist activities.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a personal note to Trump for taking further action against Iran.
"Once again you are keeping the world safe from Iran aggression and terrorism," Netanyahu said in statement posted on Twitter.
Former United Kingdom ambassador to Syria Peter Ford suspects that the timing of Trump's announcement could even be a ploy to help Netanyahu win reelection on Tuesday.
"Coming one day before the Israeli elections, this decision is transparently designed to help Trump's ally Netanyahu," Ford told Sputnik.
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a press briefing that organization has no comment regarding the US decision.
DETERIORATING US-IRAN RELATIONS
Trump in his statement announcing the IRGC designation said that the US will continue to increase the financial pressure on the Iranian regime for its support of terrorist activities until it abandons its "malign" behavior.
However, Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American Council nonprofit, said in a written statement obtained by Sputnik that Monday's decision does not serve US security interests and makes any diplomatic success in talks with Iran unlikely.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated since Washington withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), last year and reinstated sanctions against Tehran. The nuclear agreement envisaged gradual lifting of sanctions in return for Iran keeping its nuclear program peaceful.
Other parties to the JCPOA, including Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union, have said they will honor the nuclear agreement.
