Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on European countries to join a U.-led sanctions regime against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, saying that countries doing business with the Islamic Republic’s force do so at their own risk.
“We’re hoping that European companies, countries and others around the world will join the U. as we put in place a sanctions structure to prohibit certain activities of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that foment instability in the region and create destruction in the region,” Tillerson told reporters in Riyadh after talks with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and other top officials.
He said Saudi Arabia and the U. believe that European countries and companies that do business with the IRGC “really do so at great risk.”
Tillerson is in Saudi Arabia seeking more money for reconstruction in Iraq, after U.-backed forces ousted Islamic State from its key strongholds in the country. He is also looking to counter Iranian influence under a broader strategy to confront the government in Tehran.
The secretary spoke a week after President Donald Trump announced a new Iran strategy, refusing to certify a 2015 landmark nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and world powers. While he stopped short of repudiating the pact, he asked Congress to change it to to ensure it counters Iranian political influence in the Middle East and announced more sanctions on the IRGC. Treasury Department has designated the IRGC as a supporter of terrorism for its backing of the Quds Force, which conducts operations outside Iran.
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