On August 15, 2007, the United States announced its decision to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp’s, (IRGC) a 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a “specifically designed global terrorist.” By labeling the IRGC as a terrorist group, the United States can target the group’s business and financial operations.
The US decision to target the IRGC is a result of Iran’s growing influence in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as its support for extremists throughout the Middle East. In the near-term, the move is expected to increase tensions—which are already high—between the US and Iran.
IRGC as a Threat
The IRGC was founded following the 1979 revolution as a force to protect the newly founded Islamic state. Since then, the IRGC has gone through several changes and expanded its operations and involvement in Iran and abroad. The Revolutionary Guards is also an important economic force, reportedly with large amount of assets and companies. The IRGC is involved in construction, including dam and port building, as well as heavily involved in Iran’s oil industry. But, the primary role of the IRGC is the protection of the Islamic regime. The Quds Force, a special unit within the IRGC, is infamous for its activities outside the country, including the creation and support for Hezbollah and supporting Shiite militias in Iraq.
Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Bush signed Executive Order 13224, with the intention of obstructing terrorist funding. The Executive Order authorizes the US to identify individuals, charities, businesses, and extremist groups engaged in terrorist activities. By labeling the IRGC as a terrorist group, the United States can block the assets of the IRGC and disrupt operations by foreign businesses that “provide support, services or assistance to, or otherwise associate with terrorists.”
What makes this individual case unique is that the Revolutionary Guard would be the first national military branch included on the list, rather than the usual non-state terrorist organization. The decision follows congressional pressure on the administration to toughen its stance against Iran because of the lack of progress and ineffectiveness of United Nations resolutions over Iran’s nuclear program.
Reaction to the News
The leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp, General Yahya Rahim Safavi, responded to the news saying, “America will receive a heavier punch from the guards in the future. We will never remain silent in the face of US pressure and will use our leverage against them.” Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces, dismissed the move by the US claiming the American military was bogged down in Iraq and unable to act against Iran’s elite military force.
Talk of labeling the IRGC as a terrorist group was not surprising to several US allies. According to European diplomats, the US had broached the designation in recent conversations with European counterparts, saying that delays in efforts to win approval from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a tougher stance on Iran, left the US with little choice but an alternative, unilateral action. The US has had trouble winning the approval of nations like China and Russia to support sanctions against the Iranians. But, several nations around the world see this move as an escalation in the crisis.
Effectiveness of IRGC Designation
The IRGC has major commercial and investment interests throughout Iran and internationally. It has been used as a principal investment vehicle for Iran’s leading Mullah’s. Targeting the IRGC would also hit Iran’s economic interests. This is at least what the US hopes to accomplish, but unless the targeting of the IRGC is replicated by other countries, it is doubtful it will have much of an impact.
Existing US sanctions on Iran already require US financial institutions to freeze any assets belonging to the IRGC and prohibits American companies from conducting business with Iran. While the US has succeeded in preventing American companies from doing business with Iran, it has been less successful in impacting many foreign companies from doing business with Iran
Future Outlook
America’s allies are increasingly concerned about the US plans to unilaterally escalate pressure on Iran, ultimately fearing that an evolving strategy may be set in motion that could lead to military action. Allies are less concerned about that step than they are about the new momentum behind it. A US State Department spokesman recently told reporters, “We are confronting Iranian behavior across a variety of different fronts on a number of different battlefields. We are confronting Iran’s behavior in arming and providing material support to those groups that are going after our troops. We confront them on the ground in Iraq. We are confronting Iran diplomatically in the international arena with respect to their nuclear program.”
The term “battlefield” has caused alarm among several European countries suggesting a war between the US and Iran is approaching. The tough signal towards the Iranians comes at a time when the US has stepped up its accusations that the Revolutionary Guard is providing munitions, training, and other support to Shiite militants who are attacking American soldiers in Iraq.
Tension between the US and Iran have been on the rise for years. The US, along with its European allies, has been taking the diplomatic path when dealing with Iran’s nuclear program. There is growing frustration by the US at Iran’s alleged role in supplying arms to militias in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as its disregard of the UN over its nuclear program.
In the near-term, it is expected that relations between Iran and the US will deteriorate even further. The US is likely to push for sanctions by the UNSC, but will have difficulty convincing Russia and China to support harsher measures. If the US designates the IRGC as a terrorism supporting entity like it is expected to, it would represent a dramatic escalation to an already tense situation.
