House Recedes to Kyl-Lieberman Language on Revolutionary Guards

During the conference of the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization Act, the House receded to the Senate provision (inserted into the Defense Authorization bill following the passage of the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment) which states that it is the “Sense of Congress” that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be designated as a foreign terrorist organization and placed on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists established by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. However, in the Conference Report, the conferees also strongly endorsed “the administration’s pursuit of a diplomatic approach to address this Iranian threat.”

Sense of Congress on Iran (sec. 1258)
The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 1538) that would state the sense of the Senate that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization and placed on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists established by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The House bill contained no similar provision.

The House recedes with an amendment that would clarify that it is in the U.S. national interest that the Government of Iran not use extremists in Iraq to subvert or co-opt the institutions of the legitimate Government of Iraq.

The conferees are concerned by reports, including the testimony to Congress in September 2007 of General David Petraeus, Commander, Multi-National Forces, Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, regarding Iranian activity in Iraq that is harmful to the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq. The conferees strongly endorse the administration’s pursuit of a diplomatic approach to address this Iranian threat. The conferees note that on October 25, 2007, the Department of State announced that it designated the IRGC an entity of proliferation concern under Executive Order 13382, and the Department of the Treasury designated the IRGC’s Qods Force under Executive Order 13224 for providing material support to the Taliban and other terrorist organizations.