McCaul Introduces Legislation to Designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization

2/2 McCaul HearingVIDEO

McCaul-DEA Exchange: Iran/Hezbollah Latin America cells shift from finance to operational

Opening Remarks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), the terrorist arm of the Iranian government, would be classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under abill introduced by Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX).

"The Revolutionary Guard and its Qods Force are responsible for deadly attacks against the United States and our allies dating back to the bombing of our embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983," said Congressman McCaul, who chairs the Homeland Security Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee and serves on the Foreign Affairs Middle East Subcommittee. "The Guard should be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization right next to al Qaeda and Hezbollah."

This week, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, predicted the possibility of attacks on American soil. Clapper testified that Iran’s leaders “have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime.”

According to the Department of State, Iran remains “the most active state sponsor of terrorism”. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, founded in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend against internal and external threats, has since expanded far beyond its original mandate. Today, the IRGC has evolved into a socio-military-political-economic force with influence reaching deepinto Iran’s power structure.

“Despite brazen attacks that have killed hundreds of Americans and our allies Iran’s Guard is noticeably absent from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizationsmaintained by the Department of State,” Rep. McCaul said.

Effects of FTO Designation

Under H.R. 3698, designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization provides U.S. law enforcement with enhanced tools to prosecute:

• Separate charges can be brought against anyone providing “material support or resources” to FTOs. This includes but is not limited to money, identification, lodging, training, weapons and transportation.
• The penalty for providing material support or resources is up to 15 years in prison and possible fine. A life sentence may be imposed if their actions resulted in death. This penalty is levied in addition to penalties for any associated crime.
• Any foreign member of an FTO can be deported from the United States even if they are in this country legally.
• Banks must freeze any funds tied to FTOs

IRGC Terrorist Activities

The Qods Force, the Guard’s paramilitary arm, helped create Hezbollah and is responsible for gathering information required for targeting and planning attacks. According to the Department of Defense, the Qods Force is the most evident manifestation of Iran’s strategy to cultivate a network of sponsored terrorist surrogates capable of conducting effective, plausibly deniable attacks against the United States and Israel. Numerous terrorist attacks with which Qod Force has been associated include:

• September 2011 – Iran’s Revolutionary Guard attempted to coordinate with a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. in Washington, D.C.
• Qods Force supplied various munitions, including 107 mm rockets, to Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan, and trained Taliban fighters
• Since 2005, U.S. commanders in Iraq have asserted that the Qods Force was providing highly lethal “explosively forced projectiles,” training, guidance, and financing to Shiite militias in Iraq that contributed to a surge in U.S. troop deaths in June 2011.

• June 1996 – A bomb was detonated near the U.S. Air Force dormitory at the Khobar Towers complex inDhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 American airmen.
• October 1983 – Coordinated suicide truck bombs kill 241 Marines at the U.S. Marine barracks and 58 soldiers at the French Army barracks in Beirut.
• April 1983 – Hezbollah operatives, with the support and training of Iran, destroyed the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people including eight of the CIA’s top Middle East analysts.

Iran maintains an extensive operational presence in Latin America thanks to the network established by the IRGC and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. Iran has opened six embassies in South America over the last five years, a concerted effort to project power – diplomatic and otherwise – in the United States’ backyard.

“Iran and its Guard are on America’s doorstep, beginning preparations to launch an attack if needed, and a direct threat to our national security,” Congressman McCaul said. “This designation will give us the tools we need to counter this threat.”

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