US grants major exemptions to new sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guards

The Trump administration is granting major exemptions to new US sanctions on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies before the House Appropriations Committee’s State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee about his department’s 2020 budget request, March 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlines the exemptions in notices published in the Federal Register. A ban on travel to the US stemming from the designation of the Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization will not apply to officials of foreign governments or businesses that have dealings with the elite military unit or its subsidiaries.

The US designated the force as a terrorist organization earlier this month.

US law authorizes authorities to bar entry to the US by anyone found to have provided “material support” to a terrorist organization.

Pompeo says the waivers are in the interests of US national security, but they are likely to frustrate members of Congress who favor tough measures on Iran.

— AP