The US government today wants to classify the Iranian Revolutionary Guards officially as a foreign terrorist organization. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the unprecedented move a week ago. It becomes effective only during the day.
The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are the elite unit of the armed forces in Iran and far more important than the classical army. It is the first time that the United States classifies a military unit of another state as a terrorist organization. So far, the US State Department’s terrorist list has included groups such as the Islamic State (IS), Boko Haram and Hamas.
The Revolutionary Guards are directly under the country’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all strategic matters. The „Guard of the Islamic Revolution“ controls all borders in Iran, the Persian Gulf, as well as nuclear facilities and military bases.
Iran puts US Central Command on list
The unit also has great political and economic influence in the country. The Guards are ideologically closer to the hardliners, but the reformers around President Hassan Rouhani also respect and value them as security guarantors of the country.
The US generally takes a course of hardship towards the leadership in Tehran. The new measure aims to prevent financial aid to the Revolutionary Guards. US citizens and businesses are banned from supporting the organization – for example in the form of money, arms or training. Members of the unit are also not allowed to enter the US or can be expelled.
Iran had sharply criticized the move and, in turn, put the US Central Command (Centcom), which leads US troops in the Middle East, on the list of terrorist organizations.
