An Iranian opposition group warns that any move to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the United States’ Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list will “aggravate terrorism and chaos” in the region, as that the Biden administration fears making such a move as part of negotiations to bring Iran back into the 2015 nuclear deal.
“A potential exclusion of the IRGC from the FTO list and the removal of these individuals from the terrorism blacklist, as demanded by the ruling theocracy in Iran, will undoubtedly intensify terrorism and chaos in the region,” according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) report. , released Thursday, said.
As talks are underway in Vienna to bring Iran back into the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from which the US and Iran exited, Iran reportedly demanded the removal of the designation FTO for the IRGC.
The designation was put in place by the Trump administration in 2019, which also launched a strike to remove IRGC General Qassem Soleimani, who led its paramilitary Quds forces.
The NCRI report, which calls for a secular, democratic and non-nuclear Iran, said the designation “has handicapped many foreign financial transactions linked to the IRGC”.
The report describes the IRGC’s work in military and terrorist operations in other countries in the region, through proxies, and the training of foreign mercenaries in places like Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. It also outlines allegations that he funded Hamas and also sought to stage assassination attempts on US soil. It supports previous NCRI reports on the IRGC’s use of drones and naval proxies.
“The IRGC’s involvement in the research and development of weapons of mass destruction, the relentless terrorist activities to foment chaos, destruction and instability across the Middle East, its financial empire to finance its activities in Iran and abroad, make this terrorist organization a serious global threat,” the report said.
It also describes how the IRGC is used against the Iranian people, especially after dissident uprisings have shaken the regime’s grip on power, in order to project an image of its own strength on the people.
