Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are seen on Sept. 22, 2018, in Tehran during an annual parade marking the anniversary of the start of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. Designating the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization is a provocative new component of an ongoing U.S.-led process of widening and tightening the sanctions net on Iran.
Following two years of debate, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump opted on April 8 to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a "Foreign Terrorist Organization." This is the first time that the U.S. State Department has listed a branch of a foreign military as a terrorist organization, setting an important international precedent. Iran responded in kind the same day, designating the United States a supporter of terrorism and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) a terrorist group. Designating the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization is a provocative new component of an ongoing U.S.-led process of widening and tightening the sanctions net on Iran. Washington hopes eventually to force Tehran to negotiate a comprehensive agreement curtailing its support for Iranian allies in the region and its ballistic missile program .
