releases: https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-colleagues-call-on-biden-administration-to-designate-iraq-based-groups-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-colleagues-call-on-biden-administration-to-designate-iraq-based-groups-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations | Cotton, Colleagues Call on Biden Administration to Designate Iraq-Based Groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations | 2023-11-16 | 2023 | 2023-11 | Republican | Senate | AR | Tom Cotton | C001095 | www.cotton.senate.gov | cotton | https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases | scraper | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Caroline Tabler (202) 224-2353 November 16, 2023 Cotton, Colleagues Call on Biden Administration to Designate Iraq-Based Groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), along with Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), yesterday sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen. The senators urged the secretaries to hold terrorist groups linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accountable for attacks on U.S. servicemembers. In part, the senators wrote: “In recent months, these Iraq-based terror groups reportedly murdered a U.S. citizen in Baghdad, murdered a U.S. contractor and wounded four U.S. service personnel in Syria, and abducted a U.S.-based researcher. Many of these Iraq-based groups participated in the more than two dozen attacks on U.S. troops in the region since October 17. In each such attack, groups responsible have ties to the IRGC but are not currently designated as FTOs under U.S. law.” Full text of the letter may be found here and below. November 15, 2023 The Honorable Antony Blinken Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW ? Washington, DC 20520?? The Honorable Janet Yellen? Secretary? Department of Treasury? 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW? Washington, D.C. 20220 Dear Secretaries Blinken and Yellen, We write regarding Iraq-based terrorist militias linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran who are responsible for multiple attacks on U.S. servicemembers throughout the Middle East. While some of these groups are designated as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO), they are increasingly rebranding and reforming to evade terrorist designations and sanctions. In addition to a military response to deter these groups, we urge you to extend FTO designations to hold them accountable for their attacks on American citizens. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran empowers, trains, equips, and funds Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. Iran similarly supports various Shia extremist groups in Iraq. In recent months, these Iraq-based terror groups reportedly murdered a U.S. citizen in Baghdad, murdered a U.S. contractor and wounded four U.S. service personnel in Syria, and abducted a U.S.-based researcher. Many of these Iraq-based groups participated in the more than two dozen attacks on U.S. troops in the region since October 17. In each such attack, groups responsible have ties to the IRGC but are not currently designated as FTOs under U.S. law. The United States has an obligation to protect its citizens, which means ensuring that IRGC-linked organizations can’t terrorize them under different names. As Iranian influence expands through regional proxies, those proxies must carry the same terrorist designation as their sponsor. We urge the Department of State to extend the FTO designation to the Iraq-based groups listed in the attachment to this letter and update those designations as needed to ensure they remain effective. We also urge the Department of the Treasury to sanction these groups and their financial networks. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T01:40:41Z | 2026-04-08T01:01:09Z |