Sen. Cruz Leads the Fight Against Iran’s State Sponsorship of Terrorism

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  This week, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced S. 2094, the IRGC Terrorist Designation Act, urging the U.S. Department of State to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) also introduced companion legislation in the House, where it has received bipartisan support. The IRGC serves both a military and economic stronghold for the Iranian regime, and is their primary means to execute terrorist attacks. Placing the IRGC on the list of foreign terrorist organizations would help restrict some of the benefits the IRGC is set to receive from sanctions relief granted by President Obama’s catastrophic nuclear deal with Iran.

“For more than three decades, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been a leading proponent of radical Islamic terrorism around the globe,” Sen. Cruz said. “Under the direction of the Ayatollah Khamenei, branches of the IRGC have murdered hundreds of Americans. They have attacked our allies, notably Israel.  They have provided material support for other designated terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Yet for years the United States has sanctioned IRGC entities while leaving the organization itself untouched. This long-overdue designation simply recognizes reality and directs our government to remove this artificial distinction and hold the entire IRGC accountable.”

“Iranian terror must be combatted. The United States must call the IRGC what it is: a terrorist organization committed to killing Americans and our allies all over the world. The President claims that sanctions against Iran for its support for terrorism will continue to be enforced in spite of his deal to lift sanctions on the Ayatollah’s nuclear program. Designating Iran’s IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization would go a long way in demonstrating that the President is truly committed to combatting Iranian terror,” Rep. McCaul said.

The IRGC is connected to multiple terrorist attacks killing American military personnel and our allies, including the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, and the bombings of the U.S. Embassy, its annex, and the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 and 1984. Although the U.S. Treasury Department has designated the IRGC Quds Force for its involvement in terrorism, the State Department has yet to take action.  

The text of Sen. Cruz’s bill can be found here.

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