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Removing Sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guards Is Pure Strategic Folly
(National Interest) Elliott Abrams and Behnam Ben Taleblu - Negotiations with Iran over a nuclear deal are stalled over Tehran's insistence that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) be removed from the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list maintained by the U.S. State Department and that terrorism sanctions against the entity be dropped. Removing terrorism sanctions on the engine of the Islamic Republic's terror-sponsoring apparatus would be pure strategic folly. The IRGC has engaged in or supported acts of terrorism, kidnapping, or regional destabilization throughout its existence and has been at the forefront of the Islamic Republic's efforts to "export" its revolution. During the Iraq War (2003-2011), Iran, through the IRGC and its proxies, was assessed as being complicit in over 600 U.S. fatalities and thousands of injuries. The IRGC Aerospace Force (IRGC-AF) is responsible for the biggest ballistic missile strike against American troops: a January 2020 barrage against U.S. positions in Iraq. Iran is unlikely to jeopardize a nuclear deal that stands to free an estimated $130 billion of frozen assets over the revocation of the FTO designation for the IRGC. Deal or no deal with Iran, retaining and enforcing America's most significant counterterrorism authority against the long arm of the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism remains in the national security interest of the U.S. Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, served as Special Representative for Iran at the U.S. State Department. Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.