Iran: US labels Revolutionary Guards as terrorists

US President Donald Trump has designated Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation. It is the first time the US has labelled another nation’s military as a terrorist organisation. Iran retaliated by declaring US forces in the Middle East as a terrorist organisation, Iran state news reported. Washington-Tehran tensions have risen […]

US President Donald Trump has designated Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation.

It is the first time the US has labelled another nation’s military as a terrorist organisation.

Iran retaliated by declaring US forces in the Middle East as a terrorist organisation, Iran state news reported.

Washington-Tehran tensions have risen since Mr Trump withdrew the US from the international Iran nuclear pact.

The labelling will allow the US to impose further sanctions – particularly affecting the business sector, given the IRGC’s involvement in Iran’s economy.

A number of IRGC and affiliated entities have already been targeted by US sanctions for alleged proliferation activities, support for terrorism and human rights abuses.

Mr Trump’s statement said: “This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, 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.”