Describing the Revolutionary Guard’s key role as regime’s main lever of repression at home and export of terrorism and fundamentalism abroad, the speakers at the conference emphasized on the necessity of naming the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group and imposing comprehensive sanctions on it.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain ‘Adam Ereli’, who directed the conference, introduced the speakers and pointed out that the Resistance of Iran revealed in 2002 the Iranian regime’s nuclear facilities, which led to the western countries focusing on regime’s nuclear program.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. ‘John Bolton’ pointed in his speech to the history of the Revolutionary Guards’ terrorist acts ever since it was founded, and also to the key role the Revolutionary Guard is playing in regime’s nuclear and missile program, saying that naming the Revolutionary Guards as a foreign terrorist group would be the right thing to do.
Bolton pointed to Assad regime’s chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun, saying that the Assad regime couldn’t have stayed in power without the Iranian regime’s active support.
Bolton also said that the Revolutionary Guards could be listed as a terrorist group not just for its various terrorist acts over the past 35 years, but for its current involvement in creating terrorism across the region, particularly for what they’re doing in Syria and Iraq.
Ilan Berman, the next speaker, pointed in his speech to the political and economic importance of naming the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group, saying “the Revolutionary Guards is one of the foundations of the Islamic Republic that controls one third or more of the country’s economy. Its naming (as a terrorist group) enables the U.S. government to target companies with U.S. market exposure. It also enables the U.S. military to take a much more direct approach towards the militant groups backed by the Revolutionary Guards. Listing the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group also enables U.S. allies and its economic and political partners abroad to adopt a tougher approach.”
Berman pointed out that the most important point regarding the necessity of naming the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group is that it’s a signal for the Iranian people that a significant change has taken place.
Michael Pregent of the Hudson Institute was the next speaker, who pointed at the beginning of his speech to the Revolutionary Guards’ increased interventions following the nuclear deal, saying “the Revolutionary Guards acts beyond the law and directly responds to Khamenei. The Revolutionary Guards can employ commercial aircrafts to load their cargo compartments with weapons and move their commanders who have been banned from travel according to the latest U.N. resolutions. The Revolutionary Guards is able to do such things, and so it would be very important to name it as a terrorist organization, as that would prevent them from doing so.”
Pregent also pointed to Revolutionary Guards’ supporting of Taliban in Afghanistan as well as giving shelter to the leaders of Al-Qaida.
Alireza Jafarzadeh was the next speaker, who described in his speech the Revolutionary Guards’ network and their efforts to train terrorists. He also pointed to the Revolutionary Guards’ financial resources used for funding terrorist operations.
Jafarzadeh explained how Khamenei is using the Revolutionary Guards to plunder the economic resources and properties of the Iranian people, thus funding his terrorist acts across the region.
Jafarzadeh pointed in this regard to his newly publish book ‘The Rise of the Revolutionary Guards’ Financial Empire’, in which the names of the companies belonging to the Revolutionary Guards and the reactionary regime leader has been mentioned.
“Whoever is trading with the Iranian regime,” Jafarzadeh maintained, “is actually trading with the very own Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards… So, it would be necessary for the Revolutionary Guards to be expelled from the countries in the region, as it’s the source of the problems. The main point is that the Revolutionary Guards should be named as a foreign terrorist group, and ousted and expelled from regional countries.”
Source: / ncr-iran /