I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 854 

To direct the Secretary of State to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary 

Guard Corps Qods Force as a foreign terrorist organization, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2013 

Mr. MCCAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of State to designate Iran’s Islamic 

Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force as a foreign terrorist organization, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Qods Force Terrorist 

5 Designation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) On January 19, 1984, the Secretary of 

2 State determined that the Islamic Republic of Iran 

3 is a state sponsor of terrorism. 

4 (2) The Qods Force is the elite external oper5 ations branch of the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary 

6 Guard Corps and the Iranian regime’s primary 

7 mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorists 

8 abroad. 

9 (3) The Qods Force provides aid in the form of 

10 weapons, training, and funding to Hamas and other 

11 Palestinian terrorist groups, Lebanese Hizballah, 

12 Iraq-based militants, and Taliban fighters in Af13 ghanistan. 

14 (4) The Qods Force is behind some of the dead15 liest terrorist attacks of the past three decades, in16 cluding the 1983 and 1984 bombings of the United 

17 States Embassy and annex in Beirut, the 1983 

18 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, the 1992 

19 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, 

20 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Cen21 ter in Buenos Aires, and the 1996 Khobar Towers 

22 bombing in Saudi Arabia. 

23 (5) In 2007, President George W. Bush and 

24 General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in 


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1 Iraq, accused Iran’s Qods Force of aiding militias in 

2 killing American soldiers in Iraq. 

3 (6) In 2007, the U.S. Department of the Treas4 ury designated the Qods Force for providing mate5 rial support to the Taliban and other terrorist orga6 nizations. 

7 (7) On October 25, 2007, Iran’s Islamic Revo8 lutionary Guard Corps Qods Force was sanctioned 

9 under Executive Order 13382, for supporting pro10 liferation of weapons of mass destruction. 

11 (8) Section 1258 of the National Defense Au12 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 expressed the 

13 sense of Congress that ‘‘the United States should 

14 designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps 

15 as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 

16 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1189) and place the Islamic Revolutionary Guards 

18 Corps on the list of Specially Designated Global Ter19 rorists, as established under the International Emer20 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 

21 seq.) and initiated under Executive Order 13224 

22 (September 23, 2001)’’. 

23 (9) In the period following the June 2009 presi24 dential election in Iran, the Qods Force was impli25 cated in custodial deaths and the killings of election 


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1 protesters and committed other acts of politically 

2 motivated violence, including torture, beatings, and 

3 rape. 

4 (10) On April 29, 2011, President Obama 

5 issued Executive Order 13572, Blocking Property of 

6 Certain Persons With Respect to Human Rights 

7 Abuses in Syria, including the Qods Force, for the 

8 repression of the people of Syria, manifested most 

9 recently by the use of violence and torture against, 

10 and arbitrary arrests and detentions of, peaceful 

11 protestors by police, security forces, and other enti12 ties that have engaged in human rights abuses, 

13 which constitute an unusual and extraordinary 

14 threat to the national security, foreign policy, and 

15 economy of the United States. 

16 (11) On October 11, 2011, the U.S. Depart17 ment of Justice announced that two members of 

18 Iran’s Qods Force were charged in an alleged plot 

19 to assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the 

20 Unites States. The criminal complaint against them 

21 included charges of conspiracy to murder a foreign 

22 official; conspiracy to engage in foreign travel and 

23 use of interstate and foreign commerce facilities in 

24 the commission of murder-for-hire; conspiracy to use 

25 a weapon of mass destruction (explosives); and conVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:58 Mar 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.IH H854

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1 spiracy to commit an act of international terrorism 

2 transcending national boundaries. 

3 (12) On March 7, 2012, the U.S. Department 

4 of the Treasury designated Iran’s Qods Force Gen5 eral Gholamreza Baghbani as a Specially Designated 

6 Narcotics Trafficker for the role that the Qods 

7 Force played in its scheme to support terrorism. 

8 (13) Iran’s Qods Force stations operatives in 

9 foreign embassies, charities, and religious and cul10 tural institutions to foster relationships, often build11 ing on existing socio-economic ties with the well-es12 tablished Shia Diaspora, and recent years have wit13 nessed an increased presence in Latin America. 

14 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF IRAN’S ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY 

15 GUARD CORPS QODS FORCE AS A FOREIGN 

16 TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. 

17 The Secretary of State shall designate Iran’s Islamic 

18 Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force as a foreign ter19 rorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration 

20 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189). 

21 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

22 The Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee 

23 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 

24 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:58 Mar 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.IH H854

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1 port on terrorist activities of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary 

2 Guard Corps Qods Force. 

Æ 


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