Advertisement
Iran
WorldMiddle East

‘Corrupt terror force’: Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard comes under fire from Trump

The Revolutionary Guard is an official branch of Iran’s armed forces, although it commands proxy forces in the region and wields vast political and economic influence

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard march in front of the mausoleum of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran. File photo: AP
Agencies

Once a ragtag force protecting Iran’s nascent Islamic regime, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is now the nation’s most powerful security institution – and it has come under fire from the Trump administration.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced his new strategy toward Iran, adopting a more aggressive stance on everything from the nuclear deal to Iranian ballistic missiles.

Trump announced targeted sanctions on the IRGC, a key instrument of Tehran’s military and foreign policy that the president described as “the Iranian Supreme Leader’s corrupt personal terror force and militia”.

Advertisement

In his policy speech Friday, Trump referred to Iran as a “dictatorship” with a “long campaign of bloodshed”.

“The regime remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” he said, adding that he would order the US Treasury Department to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a supporter of terrorism.

Advertisement

Watch: Trump says Iran not living up to spirit of nuclear deal

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x