But the Trump administration made a very tough decision to officially include the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the US list of terrorist organizations.
The decision is deeply influential. The reactions of the Iranian regime and its regional proxies show how much impact it has. The US decision will have many implications.
The verdict sends a clear message to the mullahs that the US seriously wants to neutralize the sectarian regional plan of the mullahs. The Trump administration does not fear the threats of the regime or the IRGC chiefs who are now subject to the laws on terror.
Some analysts argue that IRGC leaders do not visit the United States and Western capitals to worry about the US move. Their analysis, however, is shallow.
In the case of a mostly secret organization, the resolution will prohibit further collaboration between any US company, bank or other entity and the heads of the IRGC.
By this, the sources of funding from the banks will be dried up systematically, leaving a clear warning to all parties dealing with the Revolutionary Guard or its operatives and vigilantes in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere.
Another American objective is to denounce the practices of the Revolutionary Guard and to associate it with terrorism. The mullahs’ regime, which constantly speaks of championing security and stability, combating terrorism and claims to be a victim of so-called hostile US policies, will find itself in international isolation.
The ban on dealing with the IRGC will limit the movement of an Iranian militia of more than 100,000 terrorist elements outside Iran. It will also affect the Basij elements that repress the Iranian people in the country and suppress popular movements in recent years. The ban also covers IRGC-controlled businesses that account for about one-third of the Iranian economy.
The inclusion of the IRGC on the US terrorism list is also a firm decision to control Iran’s ballistic missile program. The program is managed and supervised by the IRGC.
Those in the Qods Force involved in providing militias loyal to the mullahs in Iraq and Syria with weapons and equipment and mobilizing mercenaries will also be prosecuted under the new rule.
Hostility between the two sides is mainly due to the losses that the IRGC have inflicted on the US. Since 2003, the IRGC has killed 603 Americans in Iraq since 2003, according to official sources. The number represents about 17% of the total number of Americans killed in Iraq at the time.
The IRGC has been subject to various American sanctions for years. Despite the fears of some American security services about the militia’s reaction to the new measure, the White House seems determined to firmly address the Iranian threat.
It goes without saying that the US response to any Iranian reaction threatening US forces in Iraq or Syria will be harsh, so the guards will not be in a position to take any action that could lead to a US military strike.
Dealing with the IRGC as a terrorist organization is a start to suffocate the mullahs’ regime and prevent their militias from undermining regional and global peace and stability.
