The US’s decision to place Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on their list of foreign terrorist organisations could substantially harm the country’s already damaged economy, according to analysts at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
The move, which US officials say is coming in the next few days, would form part of the US’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which is designed to bring the mullahs back to the table for negotiations on Iran’s malign behaviour.
Dr. Raz Zimmt, an expert on Iran at the INSS, said that the decision had “the potential to cause a lot of damage,” but that it would be difficult to trace all individuals and companies linked economically to the IRGC, so a full policy that showed just how far the US would go is desperately needed.
The IRGC, which was created by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 Islamic Revolution as his personal army, now controls around a third of the Iranian economy via subsidiaries and trusts, including its nuclear program, the oil, gas and telecommunications industries, and major infrastructure projects. Every man between the ages of 18 and 20 must serve in the military or IRGC, so the blanket designation could target millions of Iranians who actually want nothing to do with the IRGC.
However, it is completely possible for the US to make sure they only target the decision-makers. After all, large swathes of IRGC activity is already under sanctions, including Iran’s missile and nuclear programs and the Quds Force, an elite armed wing of the IRGC.
This move would still mark an escalation in the US’s policy on Iran, even as the US prepares to place additional economic sanctions on Iran over the coming months for international aggression and human rights violations.
Iranian affairs expert Dr Eldad Pardo said that this move would also increase the impact of economic sanctions that the US has already put in place.
He said: “It’s one thing to breach American sanctions, but it’s another to support a terrorist organization, so it will add to the fears that some businesspeople feel when dealing with Iran. Basically, if you want to deal with Iran, you have to deal with the Revolutionary Guards because they are involved in everything.”
He continued: “It’s not a smart business decision to invest in a country that is in direct confrontation with the United States. The great majority of the Iranian people want to stick with the nuclear deal; they want to open the economy; they want a transformation of the regime. This will add to that pressure.”
Source » ncr-iran