Letter to Antony Blinken, Secretary of State - Franklin Leads Letter to Keep Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Foreign Terrorist Organization List

Press Release

Dear Secretary Blinken:

We write you today with grave concerns regarding the ongoing nuclear discussions with Iran
and their potential impacts on our partner nations around the world. Specifically, we are
deeply concerned about reports that the Biden Administration intends to remove the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) within the
confines of a new Iran Nuclear Deal. We 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. It is also a chief supporter and
enabler of other FTOs and insurgent groups in the region. These organizations include, but
are not limited to: Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Houthi insurgency.
The IRGC's actions have led to decades of instability and conflict across the Middle East and
the group is responsible for countless deaths, including more than 600 U.S. troops during the
occupation of Iraq.

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. Additionally, delisting the
IRGC as a FTO would significantly bolster their financial resources. Many foreign
companies abstain from conducting transactions with the IRGC to gain access to the U.S.
market, but would no longer be subject to such restrictions.

Iran is the leading state sponsor of terror and continues to be the greatest threat to regional
stability and our ally Israel. It is unconscionable that the United States should fail to exert
maximum pressure on an evil and malign organization like the IRGC. We strongly urge
against any decision that would legitimize the IRGC and allow them to further threaten
democracy & freedom around the world.

Sincerely,