Trump Expected to Designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as Terrorists

Germany: Iran Trying to Buy 'Dual Use' Items Banned by Sanctions

President Trump will announce his decertification of the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran this week, and the White House has said he will provide details on his overall strategy for Iran going forward.

Today, we may have our first idea what this might entail, as officials are being quoted as saying President Trump is “likely” to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

This would be the first time the US has ever designated a branch of another country’s military as “terrorists,” and would be hugely problematic, signaling growing US hostility toward Iran. Opponents of the move warn it risks provoking an Iranian retaliation.

President Trump is eager to move against Iran for its “bad behavior,” but there is little that they’re actually doing to justify such moves. Iran is complying with the P5+1 nuclear deal in all ways, and while Germany has accused Iran of trying to buy items forbidden them under sanctions, those purchases too were just “dual use” items that could’ve been for civilian and not military purposes.

In reality the US never stopped viewing Iran as a regional rival in the Middle East, and is having a hard time coming to grips with the lack of justification for more measures against them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.