Trump Invites "Crushing" Response After Designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard As Terrorist Organization

While Trump"s just announced decision to decertify the Iranian nuclear deal, giving Congress 60 days to decide whether to unwind Obama"s landmark dlea, was widely leaked previously even though few can point to just what aspects of the deal Iran violated, one aspect of Trump"s Iran statement was unclear: whether he would designate Iran"s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, or IRGC, the elite wing of Iran"s army, a terrorist organization -  a move which Iran vowed would prompt "decisive , crushing" retaliation.

Trump did just that, and the new, sweeping sanctions on the IRGC could affect conflicts in Iraq and Syria, where Tehran and Washington both support warring parties that oppose the Islamic State militant group. This is what the Treasury posted on its sanctions website moments ago:

Treasury Designates the IRGC under Terrorism Authority and Targets IRGC and Military Supporters under Counter-Proliferation Authority

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pursuant to the global terrorism Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 and consistent with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.  OFAC designated the IRGC today for its activities in support of the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), which was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 25, 2007, for providing support to a number of terrorist groups, including Hizballah and Hamas, as well as to the Taliban.  The IRGC has provided material support to the IRGC-QF, including by providing training, personnel, and military equipment.

“The IRGC has played a central role to Iran becoming the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror.  Iran’s pursuit of power comes at the cost of regional stability, and Treasury will continue using its authorities to disrupt the IRGC’s destructive activities,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.  “We are designating the IRGC for providing support to the IRGC-QF, the key Iranian entity enabling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s relentless campaign of brutal violence against his own people, as well as the lethal activities of Hizballah, Hamas, and other terrorist groups. We urge the private sector to recognize that the IRGC permeates much of the Iranian economy, and those who transact with IRGC-controlled companies do so at great risk.”

IRGC

The IRGC was designated today for the activities it undertakes to assist in, sponsor, or provide financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF.  The IRGC, which is the parent organization of the IRGC-QF, was previously designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 on October 25, 2007, in connection with its support to Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, and pursuant to E.O. 13553 on June 9, 2011 and E.O. 13606 on April 23, 2012, in connection with Iran’s human rights abuses.

The IRGC has provided material support to the IRGC-QF, including by providing training, personnel, and military equipment.  The IRGC has trained IRGC-QF personnel in Iran prior to their deployments to Syria, and has deployed at least hundreds of personnel from its conventional ground forces to Syria to support IRGC-QF operations.  IRGC personnel in Syria have provided military assistance to the IRGC-QF, and have been assigned to IRGC-QF units on the battlefield, where they provide critical combat support, including serving as snipers and machine gunners.

Additionally, the IRGC has recruited, trained, and facilitated the travel of Afghan and Pakistani nationals to Syria, where those personnel are assigned to, and fight alongside, the IRGC-QF.  The IRGC also has worked with the IRGC-QF to transfer military equipment to Syria.  The IRGC used both IRGC bases and civilian airports in Iran to transfer military equipment to Iraq and Syria for the IRGC-QF.

Now it"s a question of what Iran (and Russia) does: as a reminder, on Monday, Iran vowed to give a "firm and crushing" response if Washington adds the IRGC to the list of terrorist organizations, which the US just did. 

"We are hopeful that the United States does not make this strategic mistake,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi stated during a news conference according to Reuters. “If they do, Iran’s reaction would be firm, decisive and crushing and the United States should bear all its consequences."

 

Commenting on the IRGC designation, University of Tehran analyst Seyed Mohammad Marandi said that Iran will give a similar designation to the US military. Asked by the local media if he expects Trump to decertify the nuclear deal on October, 15, and what impact this could have on stability in the world, Marandi responded:

It is quite possible. Of course, Mr. Trump is a very unpredictable person, but all indications seem to show that that is what he is going to do. If he does decertify the agreement, basically it will show the international community the US is an untrustworthy country, and it is not a country you can negotiate with. It will prevent Iran from being able to carry out any negotiations in the future with the US because the Iranians will conclude that even if there is some sort of agreement over any Issue, the US may tear up that agreement later on. And I think the same is true with any country that wants or is even contemplating negotiating with the US. The US hurts itself more than anyone else. If it wishes to increase sanctions on Iran, then I think the Iranians will find the means to retaliate.

* * *

If he decertifies the nuclear deal, a lot will depend on the reaction of the EU countries. If the EU countries simply verbally oppose Trump, that is one way of moving forward. I think that would lead to the deal unfolding completely. If on the other hand, the EU countries and England decide that they will retaliate against the US, that they will sue the US or punish the US if it tries to punish their companies, that may bring about a different situation. But without a doubt, if the US wants to push for greater confrontation with Iran, the Iranians know quite well that the only way to make sure the US backs off is if the Iranians push back just as hard, if not harder. Iran will not initiate any form of confrontation, conflict or tit-for-tat, but if the US begins something, then the Iranians will definitely push back very hard

As for whether the Iran deal ends following a Congressional review, a U.S. pullout from the Iran deal would unravel an accord seen by supporters as vital to preventing a Middle East arms race and tamping down regional tensions, since it limits Iran’s ability to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that damaged its oil-based economy. As a reminder, prior to the deal Iran and Israel were constantly at each other"s throats, resulting in a constant fear of imminent war between the two nations.

The American Empire Was Challenged On Nearly Every Front This Week

Via Damiel Lang of SHTFPlan.com,

Since the end of World War Two, the United States has established itself on every continent with hundreds of military bases, and has sent troops to foreign nations (both covertly and overtly) on so many occasions that it’s difficult to keep track of them all. And this doesn’t even take into account the nations that our government has quietly and successfully pressured into going along with its financial and military agenda. The US government commands a sprawling empire which, much like the British empire that preceded it, never sees the setting sun.

But this massive global empire can’t last forever, and there are forces at work that are challenging the US at every opportunity. And this week in particular, the barbarians were brimming at the gates, so to speak. That’s because our government’s interests were confronted by adversaries in several different regions.

For starters, North Korea tested several missiles in the Sea of Japan over the weekend, three of which landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Alarmed by North Korea’s improved missile technology, Japanese authorities went on high alert. The United States has since sent 14 Super Hercules military planes to Tokyo, and has deployed an anti-missile defense system in South Korea.

While that story has been widely reported on by now, the mainstream media has hardly touched this astonishing story from Afghanistan. If you can believe it, the Pentagon has confirmed that the Chinese military has been operating in Afghanistan, albeit for unknown reasons. So far, both the Chinese and Afghan governments have denied this.

Meanwhile in the Persian Gulf, multiple vessels with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard swarmed a US Navy tracking ship in the Straight of Hormuz, coming within 600 yards of the vessel and forcing it to change direction. The US Navy claims that the vessel was unarmed and the interaction with the Iranian military has been called “unsafe and unprofessional.”

And finally, American troops were recently deployed to the Syrian city of Manbij, after Turkey threatened to attack Kurdish forces in the city. Colonel John Dorrian tweeted that the Joint Task Force in the region “has taken this deliberate action to reassure Coaltion mbrs & partner forces, deter aggression and keep focus on defeating ISIS.”

Can you believe that all of this occurred within a few days? If it weren’t for the fact that the US has racked up an astonishing number of enemies over the years, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a concerted effort, organized behind the scenes. In reality, it’s probably just a coincidence. America just happens to be odds with so many forces at the same time. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for the day when our nation is busy protecting its own shores and nothing else, because hearing about this stuff every week is exhausting.

Iran Defies Trump: Carries Out More Missile Tests, Threatens Enemies With "Roaring Missiles"

Iran does appears to not be taking Trump"s escalating threats too seriously, because just one day after the US imposed restrictions on 25 Iranian individuals and entities in response to a ballistic missile test last week (a move which provoked Tehran to answer by saying it would disclose the names of US individuals and companies involved in "helping and founding" terrorist groups), Iran carried out more missile tests during a military exercise on Saturday. 

According to Iran"s semi-official Tasnim agency, which cited Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ aerospace division, Iran successfully tested a range of land-to-land missiles and radar systems during the drills in a 35,000 square-kilometer stretch of desert in the northern Iranian province of Semnan.

"If we see the smallest misstep from the enemies, our roaring missiles will fall on their heads," the brigadier general was cited as telling reporters on the sidelines of the military trials, without referring to any particular nations. Any threats made by the U.S. against Iran were "nonsensical,” Tasnim cited him as saying. Hajizadeh also said tat Iran would use its missiles if its security is under threat, and added that "we are working day and night to protect Iran’s security," head of Revolutionary Guards" aerospace unit, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

Iran"s Revolutionary Guards is holding the military exercise in Semnan province on Saturday to test missile and radar systems and to "showcase the power of Iran"s revolution and to dismiss the sanctions," according to the force"s website.

Dismissing Trump"s comments that "nothing is off the table" in dealing with Tehran, the commander of Iran"s ground forces said on Saturday that the Islamic Republic has been hearing such threats since its 1979 revolution. "The defence capability and the offensive prowess of Iran"s armed forces would make America or any other enemy regretful of any incursion," Ahmad Reza Pourdastan was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Iranian state news agencies reported that home-made missile systems, radars, command and control centres, and cyber warfare systems would be tested in Saturday"s drill. Iran has one of the Middle East"s largest missile programmes and held a similar exercise in December to showcase its defence systems, including radars, anti-missile defence units, and short and medium-range missiles.

Tehran confirmed on Wednesday that it had test-fired a new ballistic missile, but said the test did not breach the Islamic Republic"s nuclear agreement with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact.

Despite the heated words, Reuters reports that U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Saturday he was not considering raising the number of U.S. forces in the Middle East to address Iran"s "misbehavior", but warned that the world would not ignore Iranian activities.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting last Tuesday and recommended the missile testing be studied at committee level after the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, called the test "unacceptable". The Security Council resolution was adopted to buttress the deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear activities to allay concerns they could be used to develop atomic bombs, in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

The resolution urged Tehran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Critics say the resolution"s language does not make this obligatory. Tehran says it has not carried out any work on missiles specifically designed to carry nuclear payloads.

As of this morning it appears that Trump has not learned yet about Iran"s latest defiant actions, as he has so far focused on "so-called judges" in his morning battery of tweets and has failed to mention Iran yet during his first weekend retreat to his Mar-a-Lago winter retreat in Palm Beach. Instead moments ago he simply tweeted...

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017