Could Trump’s Hardline on Iran Do More Harm than Good?

Picture of Ayatollah Khomeini in Qom, Iran

QOM, IRAN – JUNE 03: Women, dressed in a traditional Iranian hijab, walk past a portrait of the late Ayatollah Khomeini on June 3, 2014 in Qom, Iran. Iran is marking the 25th anniversary of the death of the Ayatollah Khomeini and his legacy of the Islamic Revolution. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Posted: October 11th, 2017

The White House is expected to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group as part of the White House’s tough new tact on Tehran, according to multiple news reports—but experts say doing so could worsen regional conflicts.

This week, President Donald Trump will announce the designation as part of a broader strategy targeting Iran, the Financial Times reported. The decision is likely to come along with the president’s much-anticipated decertification of the Iran nuclear deal, an agreement Trump will say is not in the national security interests of the U.S. However, the president will not recommend Congress re-impose sanctions immediately — a move that would effectively scuttle the deal.

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Could Trump’s Hardline on Iran Do More Harm than Good?

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