US Imposed New Sanctions On Iran's Revolutionary Guards Yesterday After Being Considering Considering To Remove It From Terrorist List Two Weeks Ago

Illustration of Iranian Revolutionary Guards. (Wikimedia Commons/Mohammad Sadegh Heydari)

JAKARTA - The United States government under President Joe Biden has imposed new sanctions on Iran, targeting its ballistic missile program and Revolutionary Guard units linked to it, after briefly considering removing the group from the terrorist list.

The US Treasury Department said Wednesday the sanctions were in response to a series of attacks this month by Iran and its proxies, in particular the missile attack on Erbil in northern Iraq.

The Houthi missile attack on the Saudi Aramco depot last week and other attacks by Iranian proxies against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also feed into the American decision.

The sanctions focus on Iran-based procurement agency Mohmmad Ali Hosseini and his network of companies.

In a statement, the Treasury said the business "purchases ballistic missile propellant-related materials for the Revolutionary Guard Corps' Self-Sufficiency Jihad Research and Organization (IRGC RSSJO), the Revolutionary Guards unit responsible for ballistic missile research and development, as well as Iran's Parchin Chemical Industry (PCI), an element of the Iranian Defense Industries Organization (DIO)".

Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said Washington is committed to preventing Iran's development and use of advanced ballistic missiles, even as it seeks to return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

"While the United States continues to work for Iran to return to full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, we will not hesitate to target those who support Iran's ballistic missile program," Nelson said.

"We will also work with other partners in the region to hold Iran accountable for its actions, including grave violations of the sovereignty of its neighbors," he stressed.

As part of the conditions for returning to the nuclear deal signed in 2015, Iran has requested the removal of the Revolutionary Guards from Washington's list of foreign terrorist organizations. Previously, the US designated Tehran's elite troops as a terrorist group in 2019.

Two weeks ago, the United States was considering removing Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or Revolutionary Guard from a foreign terrorist blacklist, in exchange for Iran to "control" its troops and reduce escalation, while Israel was opposed and worried.

Asked about removing the Revolutionary Guards from the terrorist list last Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not give a clear answer. The IRGC, he said, "is probably the most designated organization, in one way or another, in the world among our designated organizations, including designated foreign terrorist organizations".

Following the attacks in Saudi Arabia last week, Foreign Minister Blinken called his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan. Secretary of State Blinken "reaffirmed the US commitment to strengthening Saudi Arabia's defenses against threats in the region and stressed the importance of protecting civilians in Yemen," the State Department said.

Today, OFAC sanctioned an Iran-based agent & his network of companies that procured ballistic missile materials for the IRGC. This action reinforces the U.S. commitment to preventing the Iranian regime’s development & use of advanced ballistic missiles.https://t.co/o8KJ1bbSN5

— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) March 30, 2022