Counterterrorism Blog

The U.S. government is preparing to designate the IRGC, either as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) or under the authority of Executive Order 13224. This designation is intended in part to counteract the group’s growing involvement in a range of nefarious activities, as well as its increasing industrial and economic prowess. Ample evidence has made clear that not only does the IRGC provide direct support to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Hezbollah, and play unhelpful role in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that they do so in part by cooperating with foreign companies and securing substantial business contracts under non-competitive bids (see my op-ed last month in The Wall Street Journal Europe). As I wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Times, the IRGC's business and industrial activities -- especially those connected to the oil and gas industries -- are heavily dependent on the international financial system. In addition, testifying before Congress in March, I outlined the need to target these activities, which in addition to supporting a range of illicit actions, help provide funding for groups attacking U.S. forces in Iraq. Designating the IRGC as either an FTO or under EO 13224 will pave the way for the international community to reduce its financial exposure and business ties with the IRGC. Ideally, since they will be under considerable pressure, U.S. allies will hopefully cut back bilateral ties by encouraging companies not to do business with a risky actor.

In addition, the Qods Force, the IRGC’s external arm, serves as the main conduit for Iran’s considerable financial, material, and logistical support for Hezbollah, the details of which I have outlined previously. Tools such as designating the IRGC, applied in tandem with other carrots and sticks, have proven to be effective in the past, and represent the kind of regime-hostile, people-friendly measures that the U.S. government should enact.