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U.S.: Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Terror Designation Meant to "Make It Radioactive"
(Jerusalem Post) Yonah Jeremy Bob - U.S. Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales said Sunday during a visit to Israel that the goal of the U.S. designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group was to "make it radioactive." "Now Iran stands accused of directly engaging in terrorism. This removes its plausible deniability - it cannot hide behind Hizbullah or Palestinian Islamic Jihad anymore." The designation "enables material support [criminal] prosecutions" of "anyone knowingly providing support" to any entities linked to the IRGC, which can lead to an up to 20-year prison sentence. This crime is defined broadly under U.S. law and has led to over 150 convictions relating to other terrorist groups. Sales said that the designation would empower the U.S. to deny entry to persons with links to IRGC entities, including those raising funds for the group. He added that the fact that Hizbullah has been on a public fund-raising campaign in recent months signals that U.S. sanctions on Iran are having an impact - even forcing it to reduce its funding of its top proxy Hizbullah.