The Bush administration has decided to give a "terrorist" designation to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, which would allow the US government to target the group's business and financial operations, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The daily reported that the Bush administration suspects the Revolutionary Guard, Iran's 125,000-strong elite military branch, of providing support to extremists in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the Middle East.
The Post said that the decision follows congressional pressure on the administration to toughen its stance against Tehran, and reflects adminstration frustration with the ineffectiveness of UN resolutions against Iran's nuclear program.
The executive order, to be issued by US President George W. Bush in the coming days, will allow the United States to block the assets of terrorists and to disrupt operations by foreign businesses that "provide support, services or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists."
The Revolutionary Guard would be the first national military branch included on a US list of individuals, businesses, charities and extremist groups believed to be engaged in terrorist activities.
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