March 27, 2024

Wednesday, March 27, 2024
March 27, 2024

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500 Iranian-Americans To President Joe Biden: ‘Do Not Remove IRGC From Terror List’

Over 500 distinguished professionals, academics, and scientists – all Iranian-Americans – signed a letter sent to President Biden, copying Secretary of State Blinken and all U.S. House and Senate members. The letter begins by noting that Iranian negotiators have made the demand to delist the IRGC one of their top demands in the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.

The letter states, “This demand is certainly not accidental, and unquestionably against the will and interest of the Iranian people, and a direct threat to the advancement of democracy.”

The Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list is maintained by the Federal Bureau of Counterterrorism, which identifies all FTO-listed entities as “foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

What does that mean to the United States, and how does it impact listed groups? The Bureau says, “FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.”

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was added to the list on April 15, 2019, under President Trump, along with several ISIS groups in Africa, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. There was no doubt then that the IRGC deserved the designation as a terrorist group. Has the organization had a sudden change of heart?

The IRGC has publicly taken responsibility for numerous terror attacks, including the February 2022 attack in Erbil, Iraq, which targeted the U.S. consulate building. Thankfully, it caused only material damage to the building and wounded one civilian.

The official IRGC Public Relations department claimed the attack targeted a secret Mossad installation. The official press release stated, “the IRGC hit the Zionists’ strategic center of plot and evil acts,” claiming the IRGC used “powerful missiles with pinpoint accuracy last night” [March 12, 2022]. “Once again, we warn the criminal Zionist regime that the repetition of any evil act will draw harsh, decisive, and devastating responses.”

An Iraqi security official confirmed that the missiles were Iranian, noting, “Parts of the fired missiles were retrieved, and it was manufactured by Iran,” CNBC reported.

The last time the IRGC directly attacked a U.S. facility was through ballistic missiles directed at U.S. forces in January 2020 in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed commander Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport. Another attack for which the IRGC openly claimed responsibility.

There is no question the IRGC is a terrorist organization; however, the Biden administration seems to be laying the groundwork for distinguishing between the Quds Force and IRGC, in effect giving one the right to continue terror unimpeded while condemning the other.

That doesn’t fly with everyone in Washington, including a growing number of Democrats. Still, the rhetoric seems to support the narrative that some want us to believe the IRGC and Quds are separate entities, one a terror organization and the other something less. AFP news agency reported that Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, “In my personal opinion, I believe the IRGC Quds Force to be a terrorist organization, and I do not support them being delisted from the [FTO] list.”

It was unclear whether Milley was suggesting an alternative of keeping the Quds Force designated while dropping the broader Revolutionary Guards from the list.

For his part, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to comment on negotiations or speculate on his advice to President Biden.

Representatives Scott Franklin (R-FL) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) led a group of over 80 members of Congress, urging Secretary Blinken not to delist the IRGC as a terror group. The March 22 letter said the members “are united in strong opposition to any move to legitimize the IRGC’s reckless, destabilizing, and antisemitic actions throughout the Middle East.”

“The IRGC continues to actively participate in acts of terror and destabilizing actions in the region – particularly against one of our closest allies, Israel,” the letter said. “It is unconscionable that the United States should fail to exert maximum pressure on an evil and malign organization like the IRGC,” they said.

An unnamed U.S. official told the Times of Israel that the U.S. was “prepared to make difficult decisions to return Iran’s nuclear program to JCPOA limits,” not denying that delisting the IRGC was potentially on the table. The decision seems to have been made at some level, and the talking points are being refined with each new statement, press release, and Sunday talk show.

Negotiations appear stalled over the designation, despite statements from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying negotiations “are going ahead properly,” and “The negotiations may reach somewhere, they might reach positive, semi-positive or negative results.”

7Israel National News reported that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid “refuse to believe” that the U.S. would take such a step. “The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of people, including Americans. We refuse to believe that the United States would remove its designation as a terrorist organization.”

The March 18 joint statement said, “The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are Hezbollah in Lebanon, they are Islamic Jihad in Gaza, they are Houthis in Yemen, they are the militias in Iraq.”

Stating what should be obvious, based on the IRGC’s own claims, Bennet and Lapid’s statement confirmed, “The IRGC are responsible for attacks on American civilians and American forces throughout the Middle East, including in the past year. The IRGC was behind plans to assassinate senior American government officials,” a reference to the plot to assassinate John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump, a plot reported by Tom Rogan in the Washington Examiner.

Biden’s security adviser Jake Sullivan on January 9, responded to Iran’s threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump White House officials. Sullivan warned Iran that the U.S. would protect officials “serving the United States now and those who formerly served.”

How can the White House admit the DOJ is investigating IRGC threats against U.S. government officials and at the same time try to say the IRGC is not a terrorist group? It appears, only if they can create a distinction between the IRGC and the Quds force. Will delisting either stop the other from further terrorist activities? Certainly not.

Advocates for delisting the IRGC argue that doing so would have little material effect because other sanctions would remain on the group. The IRGC was already sanctioned on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist blacklist, a separate list created after the 9/11 attacks. It would be impossible to list all the people the IRGC has killed since 9/11. Are sanctions an effective deterrent? Possibly not as much as we would like, but they must have some effect, or the IRGC would not be such a pivotal negotiating point. 

Secretary Blinken at least sounds like he sides with those opposing the delisting. In an NBC News interview, Blinken was asked directly if the IRGC is a terrorist organization. Blinken said, “they are,” adding, “I’m not overly optimistic at the prospects of actually getting [the nuclear] agreement to conclusion.”

Some of the administration’s talking heads seem willing to dismiss the IRGC’s history of murders, rocket attacks, civilian deaths in Syria and Iran, and hundreds of indirect terror acts through their proxies in exchange for vague and unenforceable promises at the bargaining table. It should be noted those are promises being made through the Russian mediators, supposedly negotiating for both sides.

How should Christians view delisting the IRGC as a terror group? We know that Iran – and, by default, their military – are conspirators identified in Ezekiel 38 and 39 (Persia), who will eventually stage an attack against Isreal. What possible impact could it have to say they are not a terror organization? On paper, very little. The JCPOA paper has not deterred or even slowed Iran’s progress toward The Bomb. This is political theater, nothing more.

Delusion, illusion, and confusion are all parts of Satan and the Antichrist’s Last Day’s agenda (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). The Antichrist will use all of them to deceive the world into accepting and worshipping him as their savior. Don’t believe for a minute that those same tactics are not being deployed and refined on Christians right now. Jesus warned, “For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible” (Matthew 24:24). This was a warning to the disciples and to us. It is as much a warning for us before the Rapture as for those on earth in the Tribulation.

Are the administration’s statements a line in the sand for Iran or more smoke and mirrors to the American public? That remains to be seen. At the very least, accepting Iranian promises on terror seems about as valid as accepting Putin’s promises he would not invade Ukraine. President Zellenskyy would be happy to explain how well that worked out.

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The World Is Only Going To Get Rougher, But Greater Things Are Still Ahead For Believers

Over and over the Bible directs our minds to the future. This practice enables us to face the present without being overwhelmed by temporary circumstances that are unpleasant or painful. Our future is one of fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.

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Purim: Jewish Survival Isn’t Contingent On The World’s Hostility, But The Power Of God

Today, we have the same spirit of the annihilation of the Jews coming from the same part of the world. Modern Iranian leaders are obsessed with the spirit of Haman even today. We don’t need an Esther in the palace anymore. We need the prayers of the saints worldwide.

ABC's of Salvation

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Over 500 distinguished professionals, academics, and scientists – all Iranian-Americans – signed a letter sent to President Biden, copying Secretary of State Blinken and all U.S. House and Senate members. The letter begins by noting that Iranian negotiators have made the demand to delist the IRGC one of their top demands in the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.

The letter states, “This demand is certainly not accidental, and unquestionably against the will and interest of the Iranian people, and a direct threat to the advancement of democracy.”

The Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list is maintained by the Federal Bureau of Counterterrorism, which identifies all FTO-listed entities as “foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

What does that mean to the United States, and how does it impact listed groups? The Bureau says, “FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.”

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was added to the list on April 15, 2019, under President Trump, along with several ISIS groups in Africa, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. There was no doubt then that the IRGC deserved the designation as a terrorist group. Has the organization had a sudden change of heart?

The IRGC has publicly taken responsibility for numerous terror attacks, including the February 2022 attack in Erbil, Iraq, which targeted the U.S. consulate building. Thankfully, it caused only material damage to the building and wounded one civilian.

The official IRGC Public Relations department claimed the attack targeted a secret Mossad installation. The official press release stated, “the IRGC hit the Zionists’ strategic center of plot and evil acts,” claiming the IRGC used “powerful missiles with pinpoint accuracy last night” [March 12, 2022]. “Once again, we warn the criminal Zionist regime that the repetition of any evil act will draw harsh, decisive, and devastating responses.”

An Iraqi security official confirmed that the missiles were Iranian, noting, “Parts of the fired missiles were retrieved, and it was manufactured by Iran,” CNBC reported.

The last time the IRGC directly attacked a U.S. facility was through ballistic missiles directed at U.S. forces in January 2020 in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed commander Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport. Another attack for which the IRGC openly claimed responsibility.

There is no question the IRGC is a terrorist organization; however, the Biden administration seems to be laying the groundwork for distinguishing between the Quds Force and IRGC, in effect giving one the right to continue terror unimpeded while condemning the other.

That doesn’t fly with everyone in Washington, including a growing number of Democrats. Still, the rhetoric seems to support the narrative that some want us to believe the IRGC and Quds are separate entities, one a terror organization and the other something less. AFP news agency reported that Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, “In my personal opinion, I believe the IRGC Quds Force to be a terrorist organization, and I do not support them being delisted from the [FTO] list.”

It was unclear whether Milley was suggesting an alternative of keeping the Quds Force designated while dropping the broader Revolutionary Guards from the list.

For his part, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to comment on negotiations or speculate on his advice to President Biden.

Representatives Scott Franklin (R-FL) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) led a group of over 80 members of Congress, urging Secretary Blinken not to delist the IRGC as a terror group. The March 22 letter said the members “are united in strong opposition to any move to legitimize the IRGC’s reckless, destabilizing, and antisemitic actions throughout the Middle East.”

“The IRGC continues to actively participate in acts of terror and destabilizing actions in the region – particularly against one of our closest allies, Israel,” the letter said. “It is unconscionable that the United States should fail to exert maximum pressure on an evil and malign organization like the IRGC,” they said.

An unnamed U.S. official told the Times of Israel that the U.S. was “prepared to make difficult decisions to return Iran’s nuclear program to JCPOA limits,” not denying that delisting the IRGC was potentially on the table. The decision seems to have been made at some level, and the talking points are being refined with each new statement, press release, and Sunday talk show.

Negotiations appear stalled over the designation, despite statements from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying negotiations “are going ahead properly,” and “The negotiations may reach somewhere, they might reach positive, semi-positive or negative results.”

7Israel National News reported that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid “refuse to believe” that the U.S. would take such a step. “The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of people, including Americans. We refuse to believe that the United States would remove its designation as a terrorist organization.”

The March 18 joint statement said, “The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are Hezbollah in Lebanon, they are Islamic Jihad in Gaza, they are Houthis in Yemen, they are the militias in Iraq.”

Stating what should be obvious, based on the IRGC’s own claims, Bennet and Lapid’s statement confirmed, “The IRGC are responsible for attacks on American civilians and American forces throughout the Middle East, including in the past year. The IRGC was behind plans to assassinate senior American government officials,” a reference to the plot to assassinate John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump, a plot reported by Tom Rogan in the Washington Examiner.

Biden’s security adviser Jake Sullivan on January 9, responded to Iran’s threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump White House officials. Sullivan warned Iran that the U.S. would protect officials “serving the United States now and those who formerly served.”

How can the White House admit the DOJ is investigating IRGC threats against U.S. government officials and at the same time try to say the IRGC is not a terrorist group? It appears, only if they can create a distinction between the IRGC and the Quds force. Will delisting either stop the other from further terrorist activities? Certainly not.

Advocates for delisting the IRGC argue that doing so would have little material effect because other sanctions would remain on the group. The IRGC was already sanctioned on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist blacklist, a separate list created after the 9/11 attacks. It would be impossible to list all the people the IRGC has killed since 9/11. Are sanctions an effective deterrent? Possibly not as much as we would like, but they must have some effect, or the IRGC would not be such a pivotal negotiating point. 

Secretary Blinken at least sounds like he sides with those opposing the delisting. In an NBC News interview, Blinken was asked directly if the IRGC is a terrorist organization. Blinken said, “they are,” adding, “I’m not overly optimistic at the prospects of actually getting [the nuclear] agreement to conclusion.”

Some of the administration’s talking heads seem willing to dismiss the IRGC’s history of murders, rocket attacks, civilian deaths in Syria and Iran, and hundreds of indirect terror acts through their proxies in exchange for vague and unenforceable promises at the bargaining table. It should be noted those are promises being made through the Russian mediators, supposedly negotiating for both sides.

How should Christians view delisting the IRGC as a terror group? We know that Iran – and, by default, their military – are conspirators identified in Ezekiel 38 and 39 (Persia), who will eventually stage an attack against Isreal. What possible impact could it have to say they are not a terror organization? On paper, very little. The JCPOA paper has not deterred or even slowed Iran’s progress toward The Bomb. This is political theater, nothing more.

Delusion, illusion, and confusion are all parts of Satan and the Antichrist’s Last Day’s agenda (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). The Antichrist will use all of them to deceive the world into accepting and worshipping him as their savior. Don’t believe for a minute that those same tactics are not being deployed and refined on Christians right now. Jesus warned, “For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible” (Matthew 24:24). This was a warning to the disciples and to us. It is as much a warning for us before the Rapture as for those on earth in the Tribulation.

Are the administration’s statements a line in the sand for Iran or more smoke and mirrors to the American public? That remains to be seen. At the very least, accepting Iranian promises on terror seems about as valid as accepting Putin’s promises he would not invade Ukraine. President Zellenskyy would be happy to explain how well that worked out.

Will You Help Reach People With Biblical Truth?

When you make a donation to this ministry you will be helping us reach more people with the sound and unashamed truth of God’s Word and how it speaks to our times through world news.

Left Media Descends Into Panic As Homeschool Mom Runs For NC Superintendent

Obviously, the establishment was not pleased with Morrow referring to public schools as “indoctrination centers” and blasting them for brainwashing children with “socialism.” Voters, however, loved her honest approach, giving her an upset victory against an establishment bigwig who was expected to win easily. 

The World Is Only Going To Get Rougher, But Greater Things Are Still Ahead For Believers

Over and over the Bible directs our minds to the future. This practice enables us to face the present without being overwhelmed by temporary circumstances that are unpleasant or painful. Our future is one of fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.

untitled artwork 6391

Purim: Jewish Survival Isn’t Contingent On The World’s Hostility, But The Power Of God

Today, we have the same spirit of the annihilation of the Jews coming from the same part of the world. Modern Iranian leaders are obsessed with the spirit of Haman even today. We don’t need an Esther in the palace anymore. We need the prayers of the saints worldwide.

ABC's of Salvation

TV AD

worldview matters

Decision Magazine V AD

TV AD

Amir V Ad #1

Decision Magazine V AD