Rubio asks US diplomats to push allies to put IRGC and Hezbollah on black list

JAKARTA - President Donald Trump's administration on Monday urged U.S. diplomats abroad to push allies to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanon-based Hezbollah as terrorist groups, citing an increased risk of attacks, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters.

The directive, dated March 16 and signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was sent to all US diplomatic and consular posts around the world.

The directive asks US diplomats to convey the message to their counterparts "at the highest appropriate level" and no later than March 20, adding that advocacy efforts to include these groups on the blacklist must be coordinated with Israeli counterparts, as reported by Al Arabiya from Reuters (17/3).

The Trump administration has sought to rally reluctant allies - many of whom were not briefed before the US-Israeli air war that began two weeks ago - to support its military operations.

As a sign of the difficulty of the effort, several US allies said on Monday they had no immediate plans to send ships to help the US lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, rejecting President Trump's plea to keep the vital oil shipping lanes open.

"With the increased risk of attacks from Iran and its partners and proxies, all governments must act quickly to reduce the ability of Iran and terrorist groups allied with Iran to attack our respective countries and citizens," one of the points of discussion in the diplomatic wire read.

Previously, both the IRGC and the Lebanese-based Shiite Muslim armed group Hezbollah have been designated as terrorist groups by the United States and several other countries.

The diplomatic cable did not provide details on the increased risk, but cited examples of how Tehran has attacked its neighbors in the Middle East and urged joint action.

"We assess that the Iranian regime is more sensitive to collective action than unilateral action, and that joint pressure is more likely to force a change in the regime's behavior than unilateral action alone," the diplomatic cable said.

It added that such a designation would increase pressure on the State of the Mullahs and limit its ability "to sponsor terrorist activities" around the world.

"President Trump is focused on securing peace in the Middle East," a State Department spokesperson said.

"The IRGC, Hezbollah, and other proxies backed by Iran destabilize governments and undermine regional peace," he said.