On April 6, 2022 during a broadcast of MSNBC’s“Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) argued that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) should be taken off the United States’ Foreign Terrorist Organization list. When asked if the United States should lift the FTO designation, he responded by saying: “Yes. I mean, the practical impact of designating them as a Foreign Terrorist Organization is inconsequential.”

We are not shocked in the least that Senator Murphy stated this because he is directly affiliated with and has been financially supported by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). NIAC recently launched a campaign urging the Biden Administration to lift all sanctions in place against the Islamic Republic, remove the IRGC from the FTO list, and to re-enter the JCPOA with no conditions. One does not need to look far to see how Senator Murphy echoes all of NIAC's talking points. 

IAL's Executive Director stated: "Let us be clear – diplomacy with the world’s leading fiscal and logistical sponsor of terrorism will never succeed. More importantly – diplomacy with the Islamic Republic will not benefit the American people, our allies in the region or the liberty seeking Iranian people. Shame on NIAC’s Senator Chris Murphy and any elected official who believes removing the IRGC from the FTO list will do anything but further embolden the Islamic Republic of Iran."