Washington D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) released the following statement in response to the Administration’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) to counter Iran’s global campaign of terrorism.

Lead Republican McCaul: “The Administration is right to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The IRGC’s elite Quds Force was previously designated, but this did not dissuade Iran from using its funding, weapons, and personnel to engage in deadly violence around the world. As we learned last week, Iran was responsible for the deaths of over 600 U.S. servicemembers during the Iraq War (2003- 2011). This designation ends the façade that the IRGC is part of a normal military. They behave like a terrorist organization and will now be treated accordingly.”

NOTE: Since 2015, Lead Republican McCaul has called on the State Department to report on whether Iran’s IRGC meets criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization through his legislation, H.R. 380 and H.R. 3646. McCaul plans to introduce a bill that will addresses the IRGC’s outsized role in Iran’s economy by lowering the minimum threshold for sanctionable transactions. Additionally, the bill will authorize sanctions for Iran’s development and financing of ballistic missile technology.

###