WASHINGTON—Representative Scott Franklin (FL-15) led a letter urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to keep Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the designated list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The letter comes in response to news reports that the Biden Administration is considering removing the IRGC’s FTO designation as part of a new nuclear deal with Iran.

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world today,” Franklin stated. “Through its sponsorship of terrorism, the IRGC is responsible for the deaths of countless innocent people and at least 600 U.S. troops. It has consistently sought the destruction of our partners and allies in the region, most notably Israel, and has been an obstacle to peace in the Middle East for decades. The Biden administration simply cannot reward this terrorist regime with any sort of legitimacy from the U.S. government.”

In the letter, the members told Secretary Blinken that “it is critical that we stand by our allies and partner nations and ensure that the IRGC is not given the benefit of removal of sanctions by delisting them as a FTO. This would reward them with greater freedom to increase their malign activities.”

They also stated that they are “against any decision that would legitimize the IRGC and allow them to further threaten democracy & freedom around the world.”

Read the full release here.