Washington, DC - "The Iranian regime is the leading state sponsor of terror. It exports dangerous missiles, fuels conflicts across the Middle East, and supports terrorist proxies." ~ President Donald J. Trump

INCREASING MAXIMUM PRESSURE: President Donald J. Trump is holding the Iranian regime accountable by targeting the primary entity that carries out its global campaign of terror. 

• The Administration is designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) to counter Iran’s global campaign of terrorism.
• The Trump Administration is taking this unprecedented step as part of a broader effort to counter Iran-backed terrorism around the world.
• The Administration’s action will increase the financial pressure and isolation of Iran and deprive the regime of resources it uses for its terrorist activities.
• This action puts other governments and the private sector on notice about the nature of the IRGC, which operates front companies and institutions around the world to fund terror.
  • The profits from what appear to be legitimate business deals can end up supporting the Iranian regime’s terrorist agenda.
• This marks the first time that the United States has designated part of another government as a FTO.
  • The designation underscores that the Iranian regime’s use of terrorism makes it fundamentally different from any other government.

COUNTERING IRAN’S GLOBAL CAMPAIGN OF TERRORISM: The Iranian regime continues to engage in a campaign of terrorism around the world.

• The Iranian regime employs terrorism as a central tool of its statecraft and uses the IRGC to direct and carry out its global terrorist campaign.
• The IRGC provides funding, equipment, training, and logistical support to terrorist groups.
• The IRGC has been directly involved in terrorist plots in numerous countries.
  • In 2011, the IRGC Qods Force plotted a brazen attack on the Saudi Ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C., that was uncovered and thwarted.
  • IRGC Qods Force activity has been uncovered and disrupted in Germany, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Kenya, Bahrain, Turkey, and others.
• The Iranian regime remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, spending nearly a billion dollars every year to support terrorism.
  • The regime provides funding to a number of terrorist groups, including Hizballah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Kata’ib Hizballah, al-Ashtar Brigades, and others.

PROTECTING AMERICA’S SECURITY: President Trump has taken action to address the full range of the regime’s malign activities and ensure it never obtains a nuclear weapon.

• President Trump withdrew from the unacceptable Iran deal as it failed to protect America’s national security interests.
• President Trump reimposed all sanctions lifted under the Iran deal and enacted the toughest sanctions regime ever imposed on Iran.
  • These sanctions help cut off revenues the regime uses to fund terrorism, promote global instability, fund nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and enrich its leaders.
• The Administration has directed its actions against the Iranian regime—not the Iranian people, who are the regime’s longest suffering victims.