Trump designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard a foreign terrorist organization

The United States is officially designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization, President Trump announced on Monday.

This move caps a month of escalating rhetoric against Iran and its backing of militia groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, and it's the first time that the U.S. has branded an entire foreign government entity as a terrorist entity, The Associated Press reports.

Iran has said it will retaliate, and Iranian lawmakers have reportedly prepared legislation to label the U.S. military a terrorist group, per NPR.

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Trump in a statement said that this "unprecedented" step "recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft." He also said that this "underscores the fact that Iran's actions are fundamentally different from those of other governments."

This move had faced opposition from top officials at the Pentagon and C.I.A., as they feared it would "allow hard-line Iranian officials to justify deadly operations against Americans overseas," The New York Times reports. Sanctions will be imposed on the Revolutionary Guard Corps as a result of this designation, and those who do business with them can face criminal charges. "If you are doing business with the IRGC, you will be bankrolling terroristm," Trump said.