MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay declares Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization

Peña is due in the US between April 25 and May 6

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña signed Decree 3781, designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization due to its systematic violations of peace, human rights, and international security. The measure follows the US decision in the same regard, adopted in 2019. Through Decrees 3758, 3759, and 3760, Paraguay also extended its 2019 designations of Hezbollah and Hamas to include all their components, citing similar violations.

“We have expanded the designation of Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations, reaching now all its components; and, in addition, we have designated as a terrorist organization the CGRI, in both cases for its systematic violations to peace, human rights and the security of the international community,” Peña posted on X.

Peña's initiative stems from the 2022 Iranian-Venezuelan Boeing 747-300 cargo aircraft operated by Emtrasur and previously owned by Iran’s Mahan Air, which transported cigarettes from Tabesa, a company tied to former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes, who has been declared significantly corrupt by the US. Cartes is also Peña's political mentor.

The aircraft was seized in Argentina with an IRGC-affiliated pilot, Gholamreza Gashemi. It was subsequently handed over to the United States, prompting further diplomatic clashes with Caracas.

The US State Department and Embassy in Paraguay praised the decision, with spokesperson Tammy Bruce noting it helps curb Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Tri-Border Area. The U.S. views Paraguay’s move as a significant step in the global fight against terrorism.

“Paraguay takes a momentous leadership step in the region, joining efforts to counter the influence of one of the world's leading promoters of terrorism, the Iranian regime,” the US Embassy in Asunción underscored.

Peña is due in the United States between April 25 and May 6 to receive an award from a Jewish NGO, highlighting Paraguay’s alignment with U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.

On April 15, 2019, ”the United States of America, a strategic ally of the Republic of Paraguay, designated said corps [the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps] as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, by virtue of the verification of its material, financial and technological support to various extremist groupings, including the organization known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),“ the presidential decree stated.

US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce congratulated Paraguay ”for confronting Iran and its agents“ and pledged to continue to work with the South American country ”to confront global threats.“

Peña's decision ”helped cut off the ability of the Iranian regime and its proxies to engage in destabilizing activities in the Tri-Border Area of South America,” she further explained.