EMET praises legislation by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a recognized, foreign terrorist organization.

EMET praises legislation by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a recognized, foreign terrorist organization.

(Washington, DC, October 8, 2015) – Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) strongly endorsed Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) legislation, S. 2094, which urges the U.S. State Department to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization. Similar legislation was proposed in the U.S. House by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX). The passage of this legislation would limit the benefits the IRGC is set to receive from the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA) and identify the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for what it truly is – a terror organization.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is Iran’s premier security institution, with more than one hundred thousand members strong. The IRGC Commander – Mohammad Ali Jafari – reports directly to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s top decision-maker. The IRGC fields an army, navy, and air force, while managing Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and irregular warfare operations through its elite Quds Force and proxies such as Hezbollah. It is also one of Iran’s most influential economic players, wielding control over strategic industries, commercial services, and black-market enterprises. Estimates conclude that the organization controls one third to two-thirds of the Iranian GDP. At the same time, the IRGC often serves as an incubator for senior Iranian public officials, making it especially powerful in the political sphere.

The IRGC, and its Quds Force, is responsible for planning and executing terrorist attacks around the globe. At the direction of this organization, thousands of innocent lives have been lost, including hundreds of American citizens. The IRGC has been a long-time supporter of the terror groups Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Jihad, and has worked with al-Qaeda. The IRGC is connected to multiple terrorist attacks killing American military personnel and our allies, including the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, and the bombings of the U.S. Embassy, its annex, and the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 and 1984.

Much of the sanctions relief from the JCPOA will go to the IRGC, on account of its dominance over the Iranian economy. A large portion of that sanctions relief can be expected to be spent in planning and implementing new terror attacks.

Although the U.S. Treasury Department has designated the IRGC Quds Force for its material support for terrorism, the State Department has yet to take action against the IRGC.

Sarah Stern, founder and President of EMET, strongly praised Sen. Cruz for this necessary legislation. “Over the last several months, EMET has been at the forefront of exposing the alarming dangers and details of the nuclear deal with Iran. These dangers include all the billions of dollars in frozen funds and sanctions relief that will go to the Iranians; much of this money will go directly to the IRGC.” She continued, “With this new money, even the Obama Administration has admitted that the Iranians – through the IRGC – will fund more acts of terrorism against the United States, and our allies, especially Israel. We are tremendously grateful to Senator Cruz for trying to call the IRGC exactly what it is – a terror organization responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and thousands of innocent civilians throughout the region and the world.”

About The Endowment for Middle East Truth

Founded in 2005, EMET’s mission is to educate policymakers in Washington and the general public about the importance of Israel to the United States in their common struggle against radical Islam. For more information, please visit www.emetonline.org. Follow EMET on Twitter and Facebook.

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