Sec. 2. Findings

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Congress makes the following findings: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps

(IRGC)has helped to train and equip proxy groups and Iraqi Shiite insurgents, and elements of the Taliban, which have targeted and killed United States and other allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The IRGC has provided Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad with funding, training, and other material support to conduct their terrorist activities and missile attacks against Israel, in an effort to cause civilian casualties and disrupt efforts for peace between Israel and its neighbors, and to destabilize Lebanon. Iran has repeatedly been identified as the most active state sponsor of terrorism by the Department of State, and the IRGC, often operating through its Qods Force, is the principal instrument for Iranian support for terror. The Government of Iran continues to engage in serious, systematic, and ongoing violations of human rights, including suppression of freedom of expression and religious freedom, illegitimate detention, torture, and executions, without affording anything resembling adequate due process. The IRGC plays a significant role in many of Iran’s human rights abuses. The IRGC currently dominates many sectors of the Iranian economy, with a significant presence in Iran’s financial and commercial sectors and extensive economic interests in the defense production, construction, and oil industries, controlling billions of dollars in corporate business. The IRGC operates through affiliated firms, front companies, and foundations in order to serve its economic interests and exert control over large segments of Iran’s economy. Many of the IRGC’s personnel have been enriched through control of these affiliated businesses and foundations, and through corruption in the operation of the businesses and their dealings with the Government of Iran. The IRGC has assisted the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad by training, equipping, and aiding the regime’s security and military forces, through military advice, provision of weapons, and funding. The United States Government designated the IRGC in 2007 under Executive Order 13382 for proliferation concerns and, separately, the Qods Force under Executive Order 13224, for its support for terrorist organizations. Section 104 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 provided for secondary sanctions against any financial institution that handles a significant transaction for designated Iranian entities, including the IRGC, its Qods Force, and other related entities. Title III of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syrian Human Rights Act of 2012 provided for additional secondary sanctions against firms that conduct business of any kind with the IRGC or related entities, and provided for the designation of additional Iranians’ entities related to the IRGC. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action concerning Iran’s nuclear program does not require the United States to lift or waive the sanctions against the IRGC or related entities. On September 15, 2015, then Acting Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Adam Szubin, stated that we are not providing any sanctions relief to the IRGC, or to its Qods Force, or any of its officials or subsidiaries and we will continue our campaign against the IRGC and the Qods Force . Strengthening sanctions against the IRGC, ensuring that the United States Government identify and designate more of the affiliated entities through which the IRGC operates, and providing for additional secondary sanctions on firms that assist the IRGC, will help deprive the IRGC of resources needed to carry out its nefarious activities.

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