President Donald Trump on Monday announced the United States is designating Iran’s elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a terrorist organisation.
Mr. Trump said in a statement that the “unprecedented” move “recognises 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 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was formed after the 1979 Islamic revolution with a mission to defend the clerical regime.
Addressing reporters following Mr. Trump’s announcement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned all banks and business of consequences to dealing with the Revolutionary Guards. “The leaders of Iran are racketeers, not revolutionaries,” Mr. Pompeo said. “Businesses and banks around the world now have a clear duty to ensure that companies with which they conduct financial transactions are not conducted with the IRGC in any material way.”
A senior Trump administration official said the new measure would criminalise contact with the Guards and “enable our prosecutors to bring charges to those that bring material support to the IRGC.”
Published - April 08, 2019 11:08 pm IST
