Two House members are calling on President Trump to pressure the European Union to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), the terrorist organization Iran's finest military force.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (RN.Y.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) have reintroduced the resolution that passed the House in previous legislature. It will be updated to encourage Trump to take action.
“Encouraging the EU to designate a resolution urges allies to participate in efforts to combat the IRGC by immediately designating this group as a terrorist organization,” Tenny said in a statement to the Hill.
“This sends a strong message that the West will unite for the malicious actions of the IRGC and hold them accountable for their sleazy terrorist acts.”
The EU has certain members of the IRGC on its sanctions list, but faces growing calls to designate the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization.
In November, members of the European Parliament introduced a resolution calling for the EU to sanction military groups. And in January the French Parliament passed a resolution urging the EU to blacklist the IRGC.
The IRGC is a major military organization in Iran and is primarily responsible for terrorism around the world, particularly exports to the Middle East. The IRGC provides technical, financial and military support to proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Housis in Yemen and proxy militias in Iraq.
“The IRGC is the backbone of Iran's global terrorist network, arming proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas while supporting Russia's war against Ukraine,” Schneider said in a statement.
“It's time to tighten the screws as Tehran is more isolated than ever. We should not mitigate or reorganize the IRGC room. The US and Canada are already in action and urge our European allies to participate in officially designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization.”
Trump designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization during his first term, and in January 2020 he greenlighted the targeted killing of General Qassem Soleimani, the group's commander-in-chief.
Trump, his former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are under threat of assassination from Iran in retaliation for Soleimani's killing. Trump recently revoked security details protecting both former officials.
Trump is generally hostile to his European partners and criticizes him for relying on the power of the US military without increasing their own defensive spending. On Wednesday, he threatened to impose a 25% tariff on EU imports, saying groups from 32 countries were unfairly treating the United States.
The European Foreign Minister is expected to meet in March to discuss Iran.
Israel has greatly weakened Iran's proxy Hezbollah and Hamas. Last year, it also aimed at assassinating the leader of Tehran's top Hamas, and launched a military strike to rob Iran's major air defense.
However, there are concerns that cornering the leaders of the Islamic Republic could cause that sprint towards nuclear weapons. A nuclear watchdog report released on Wednesday said the Islamic Republic had dramatically increased its stockpile of nuclear weapon-grade uranium fuel.
Germany, France, the UK, Russia and China face a July deadline to vote at the UN Security Council to reimpose sanctions against Iran, which were lifted by the 2015 Iran Nuclear Trade (JCPOA) signature if Iran considers it a violation of the agreement.
Trump separated the US from its contract in 2018, but announced on February 5 that it was open to diplomacy with Iran, calling for a “confirmed nuclear peace agreement.”
In a true social post on his social media site, Trump said he reported that the US and Israel were cooperating with military programs against Iran.
