Pompeo and Bolton Push Us Closer to War with Iran

With the United States designating a part of Iran’s military as a terror group, the administration is inching even closer towards a war with Iran. And thanks to a law passed by Congress shortly after the 9/11 attacks, they might be able to do it without having to get approval from Congress first. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains how this new designation could allow the administration to act unilaterally against Iran.

Why Is the US Calling Iran's Revolutionary Guard 'Terrorists'? | Inside Story

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard in Iran is both revered and feared. The 150,000 strong élite army answers directly to the Supreme Leader, and controls major businesses in Iran as well. However, it's been accused of destabilising the Middle East.

The United States has designated the force as a terrorist organisation in an unprecedented move. Iran responded by calling US troops in the Middle East terrorists, and threatened to produce more advanced nuclear centrifuges. So what's the objective? And what will be the impact of these unprecedented declarations?

Presenter: Martine Dennis | Guests: Mohammad Marandi - Dean of Faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran; Trita Parsi - Professor at Georgetown University; Ellie Geranmayeh - Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa programme and Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Iran's MPs Don Uniform of Revolutionary Guard in Protest at US

THE GUARDIAN: Tehran responds fiercely to US’s reclassification of its military wing as a terrorist organisation

Politicians in Iran wore Revolutionary Guard uniforms in parliament on Tuesday in protest at the US decision to classify the nation’s military wing as a foreign terrorist organisation.

There were chants of “Death to America” as the president, Hassan Rouhani, declared the guard was “dearer than ever in the hearts of the Iranian nation” and announced countermeasures against the US.

Donald Trump’s move on Monday marked the first time Washington has declared another nation’s military wing a terrorist organisation – in the same category as non-state groups such as Isis or al-Qaida.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, met members of the Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday, telling them: “Americans imagine they are designing and making trouble against the guard – in fact against the revolution and Iran – but their evil designs will not harm [the force]”. » | Bethan McKernan and agencies | Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Has Trump Locked US and Iran into a “Permanent State of Enmity” by Listing IRGC as Terror Group?

Who Are the Real Terrorists? Trump Intensifies Economic War Against Iran – Wilkerson & Jay

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization on Monday, upping the economic war against Iran, the rift with Europe and China, and preparing conditions for a “military option” - Col. Larry Wilkerson joins Paul Jay

US Labels Iran's Élite Revolutionary Guard Corps a 'Terror Group' | Al Jazeera English

The United States designated Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign "terrorist organisation", President Donald Trump said on Monday, marking the first time Washington has formally labelled another country's military a "terrorist" group. Iranian officials have threatened to respond to the move in kind, with legislators reportedly preparing legislation that would label the US military as a "terrorist group", according to Iran's state-run media. Critics have warned that the move could open US military and intelligence officials to similar actions by unfriendly governments. Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett and Rosiland Jordan have more from Washington.

Trump Designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a Foreign Terrorist Group

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Monday that he was designating a powerful arm of the Iranian military as a foreign terrorist organization, the first time that the United States had named a part of another nation’s government as such a threat and raising the risk of retaliation against American troops and intelligence officers.

The move, which has been debated at the highest levels within the administration, was imposed on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The military unit has carried out operations across the Middle East, trained Arab Shiite militias and taken part in a wide range of businesses in Iran.

The designation “underscores the fact that Iran’s actions are fundamentally different from those of other governments,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “This action will significantly expand the scope and scale of our maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. It makes crystal clear the risks of conducting business with, or providing support to, the I.R.G.C.”

The action imposes wide-ranging economic and travel sanctions on the military unit as well as the organizations, companies or individuals that have ties to it — including officials in Iraq, an American ally. Officials in the United States said the broad terrorist designation covers 11 million members of the Iranian group and units in its hierarchy. » | Edward Wong and Eric Schmitt | Monday, April 8, 2019

Obama May Have to Agree Deal with Iran as Islamists Sweep South

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran has already sent units of its Revolutionary Guard to Iraq to help defend Baghdad from ISIS and to defend Shia shrines in southern and central of the country

President Barack Obama is under growing pressure to set aside years of hostility and start co-operating with Iran to counter the jihadist threat engulfing Iraq and its capital, Baghdad.

Ten years after his predecessor, President George W Bush, declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq, the Obama administration was openly admitting it might have to recommit to the use of military force to reunite the country and check the long-term menace of the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

Britain too was offering counter-terrorism expertise that would mean it working alongside not just Iraqi troops but Shia militias and even Iranian special forces, only recently considered among the greatest threats to British interests in the region.

Iran has already sent units of its Revolutionary Guard to Iraq to help defend Baghdad from the onslaught being waged by ISIS, a Sunni jihadist al-Qaeda offshoot, according to reports emerging from Baghdad and Tehran.

State media quoted President Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, as telling the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will apply all its efforts on the international and regional levels to confront terrorism.” » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent, and Robert Tait in Jerusalem | Friday, June 13, 2014

Bahrain Jails Shias over 'Iran-backed' Assassination Plans

THE GUARDIAN: Gulf state says Iran's Revolutionary Guards set up 'terror' cell which planned to attack its airport and government buildings

A Bahraini court has sentenced four Shia Muslims to life and six others to 15 years in jail on charges of setting up a militant cell linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard aimed at assassinating public figures in the Gulf Arab kingdom.

In February, Bahrain, a western ally which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, accused Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard of setting up the "terror" cell, which it said planned to attack its airport and government buildings.

Bahrain has accused Shia-led Iran of fuelling unrest in the country since a 2011 uprising by majority Shias demanding reforms and a greater say in running the kingdom ruled by the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty.

Tehran denies the accusation. » | Reuters in Bahrain | Monday, November 04, 2013

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Threatens US
YNET NEWS: General Hajizadeh says 'if you kill any of us, we will kill dozens of you,' while Ahmadinejad claims Tehran does not need nuclear bomb to confront US. FM Salehi: If we wanted to develop nukes we would declare so openly

Islamic Republic escalates rhetoric ahead of IAEA report: A top commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard force threatened to kill "dozens" of American military commanders, should the US kill any one of theirs.

"You also should not forget that American commanders have plenty of presence and travel in the region. If you kill any of us, we will kill dozens of you," Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the Guards' aerospace division, was quoted by Fars agency on Tuesday as saying.

Earlier last week several American neoconservatives, including retired US Army general Jack Keane, urged the Obama administration to use covert action against Iran and target members of the Quds Force, the Guard's special foreign actions unit.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that his country did not need a nuclear bomb to confront the US.

"If America wants to confront the Iranian nation, it will certainly regret the Iranian nation's response," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency. "They are saying that Iran is seeking the atomic bomb. But they should know ... we do not need a bomb ... Rather we will act thoughtfully and with logic. History has shown that anyone acting against the Iranian nation regrets it." » | Dudi Cohen, AP | Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Pledges to Hold Fire
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Senior officers in Iran's Revolutionary Guards have written a letter to their commanding officer demanding assurances that they will not be required to open fire on anti-government demonstrators.

Following the recent violence that occurred during anti-government protests in Egypt, the officers argue that it is against the principles of Shi'ite Islamic law to use violence against their own people.

In a suggestion of a major split within the Islamic Republic's ruling hierarchy over its handling of anti-government protests, the letter has been circulated widely throughout the ranks of the Revolutionary Guards, the body responsible for defending religious system.

The letter, a copy of which has been seen by the Daily Telegraph, is addressed to Major Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Guards' commanding officer. It calls on Major Gen Jafari to issue guidance to both the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij paramilitary militia to use restraint when handling anti-government protests.

During the violent anti-government demonstrations that followed the disputed presidential election in June 2009, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad elected to serve a second four-year term, the government relied heavily on the Basij to suppress the protests over fears that it could not rely on certain Guards units.

But in the letter, which is signed by senior officers commanding Guards units in Tehran, Qom, Isfahan and Tabriz, they urge Major Gen Jafari to "use your authority over the Basij to order them to leave their truncheons at home next time." >>> Con Coughlin | Thursday, February 17, 2011

Iran : attentat suicide contre des Gardiens de la révolution
LE FIGARO: Au moins 20 personnes, dont cinq commandants de l'armée religieuse iranienne, ont été tués.

Attentat-suicide contre le pouvoir en Iran. Cinq commandants des Gardiens de la révolution, l'organisation paramilitaire aux ordres du Guide suprême iranien, ont été tués dans un attentat-suicide qui a fait vingt morts et une quarantaine de blessés.

Les faits se sont produits dans une région proche de la frontière irano-pakistanaise, au sud-est du pays. Les commandants des Gardiens se trouvaient à l'intérieur d'un véhicule et se rendaient à une réunion quand un assaillant a fait sauter les explosifs qu'il avait en sa possession, faisant sauter leur véhicule. >>> | Dimanche 18 Octobre 2009

Selbstmordanschlag auf Revolutionsgarden im Iran
WELT ONLINE: Unter den 20 Opfern sind auch fünf ranghohe Kommandeure. Noch ist unklar, wer für den Anschlag verantwortlich ist. Verdächtigt wird die sunnitische Organisation Dschundallah (Brigade Gottes), die schon mehrfach Anschläge gegen die Revolutionsgarden und schiitische Ziele im Südosten des Landes verübte.

Bei einem Selbstmordanschlag im Südosten des Irans sind nach Angaben der staatlichen Nachrichtenagentur IRNA mindestens 20 Menschen getötet worden. Unter den Opfern seien fünf ranghohe Kommandeure der Revolutionsgarden, berichtete IRNA.
Zahlreiche weitere Menschen wurden verletzt. Die Kommandeure fuhren dem Bericht zufolge zu einem Treffen in der Region Pischin an der Grenze zu Pakistan, als sich der Attentäter in die Luft sprengte.

Zu der Bluttat bekannte sich zunächst niemand. Der Verdacht fiel auf die sunnitische Organisation Dschundallah (Brigade Gottes), die schon mehrfach Anschläge gegen die Revolutionsgarden und schiitische Ziele im Südosten des Landes verübt hat. >>> AP/lac | Sonntag, 18. Oktober 2009

Iran Guard Commanders Are Killed in Bombings
THE NEW YORK TIMES: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — At least five commanders of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps were killed and dozens of others left dead and injured in two terrorist bombings in the restive region of the nation’s southeastern frontier with Pakistan, according to multiple Iranian state news agencies.

The coordinated attacks appeared to mark an escalation in hostilities between Iran’s leadership and one of the nation’s many disgruntled ethnic and religious minorities, in this case the Baluchis. The southeast region, Sistan-Baluchistan, has been the scene of terrorist attacks in the past, and in April the government put the elite Guards Corps in control of security there to try to stop the escalating violence.

Iranian officials have accused foreign enemies of supporting the terrorist insurgents and repeated that charge Sunday, a day before Iran is set to meet for another round of sensitive talks on its nuclear program with several Western countries.

“There is no doubt that this violent and inhumane act was part of the strategy of foreigners and enemies of the regime and the revolution to destroy unity between Shias and Sunnis and create divisions among the unified ranks of the great Iranian people,” said a statement issued by the Revolutionary Guards through the official IRNA news service.

A terrorist group calling itself Jundallah — or Soldiers of God — took responsibility for the attacks, according to the state-owned Press TV. The group is made up of ethic Baluchis, who can also be found in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and has taken credit for other attacks in the region in recent years.

The Jundallah has ties across the border into Pakistan, and Iranian officials say it has been encouraged, financed and armed by the United States. >>> Michael Slackman | Sunday, October 18, 2009

Clashes in Tehran as Opposition Defies Regime Warnings
TIMES ONLINE: Supporters of the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi fought running battles with riot police and hardliners on the streets of Tehran today as tens of thousands joined the first protests against President Ahmadinejad for two months.

The demonstrators defied warnings of a "decisive" crackdown from the elite Revolutionary Guard to mount the protest during the annual al-Quds rally, a mass display of solidarity with the Palestinians that is one of the set pieces of the Islamic regime.

Mr Mousavi himself was forced to abandon his own plans to join in the rally after an angry mob shouting "Death to the hypocrite Mousavi" attacked his car.

Another leading reformist, the former president Mohammad Khatami, was also roughed up on the streets of Tehran and had to leave after his robe was ripped and his turban fell to the ground. >>> Philippe Naughton | Friday, September 18, 2009

In Iran Today No One Is Safe
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: Iran has shown that a regime that is not afraid to use violence against its own citizens can crush a protest even when it has broad popular support.

Iran's supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was categorical: the protests against the controversial outcome of the presidential election had to stop, he said in a speech after last Friday's prayer.

That was all the Revolutionary Guard and the Baseej street fighters needed. When supporters of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi took to the streets again on Saturday, they were mercilessly bludgeoned into submission or even shot dead.

The Iranian authorities have acknowledged that at least ten people - "terrorists" they called them - were killed on Saturday. Unconfirmed reports suggest the real death toll may be higher.

For the powers that be in Iran, namely ayatollah Khamenei, who has the last word in the Islamic republic, and his protege Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the situation is crystal clear. The people have spoken - even if they disagree about what they said - and they have chosen Ahmadinejad over Mousavi with 63 to 34 percent. This result, Khamenei said in his speech, cannot be questioned.

And so anyone who disobeys the order of the supreme leader, can now be beaten off the street or arrested. The events of the past weekend show that a regime that is not afraid to use violence against its own citizens can indeed crush a protest - even when it has broad popular support. There are historic precedents in the region: in Syria in 1981, president Hafez al-Assad ordered the town of Hama bombed to quell a revolt by Islamic fundamentalists there. Thousands of people were killed, but the rebellion was crushed. >>> Carolien Roelants | Monday, June 22, 2009