Reuters: US State Department's Intention to Designate the IRGC as a Terrorist Organization

Three US officials have told Reuters that the United States intends to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a 'foreign terrorist organization.' This would be the first time Washington has labeled a military force of another country as a terrorist group. According to the report, the US State Department is expected to officially announce this decision on Monday, April 8. Critics have previously warned that such a decision could create a precedent for unfriendly countries to take similar actions against US security officials and military personnel. The Pentagon has refrained from commenting on the matter and referred Reuters reporters to the State Department, but neither the State Department nor the White House has provided any explanation. This event comes on the eve of the first anniversary of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran and reimpose sanctions on the country. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on this decision. The United States currently has dozens of individuals and entities associated with the IRGC on its blacklist. Although the IRGC has previously been recognized as a terrorist organization by the US Treasury Department, which imposes economic sanctions, it has not been listed as a single entity in the State Department's list of terrorist organizations until now. The US Treasury had previously blacklisted the Quds Force, the IRGC's overseas branch, in 2007 for 'supporting terrorism' and deemed it the executive arm of the Islamic Republic's policies in 'supporting terrorists and insurgent groups.' Iran has warned that if the United States designates the IRGC as a terrorist organization, it will respond severely, with IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari stating that in that case, the US military would be considered 'equivalent to ISIS' worldwide for the IRGC.