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Congress cautiously takes on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

A bipartisan Senate bill to slap terrorism sanctions on the Iranian military raises questions about its practical impact.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 26: Sen. Robert 'Bob' Menendez (D-NJ) questions witnesses during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing concerning cartels and the U.S. heroin epidemic, on Capitol Hill, May 26, 2016, in Washington, DC. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2002 to 2013 the rate of heroin-related deaths quadrupled in the United States, with most of the increase coming after 2010. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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A key provision in the bipartisan Iran sanctions bill that the Senate introduced last week is causing widespread confusion and debate about its potential impact.

Advocates of the Iran nuclear deal argue that the bill from Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., would label the 100,000-strong Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist group and trigger a showdown between the United States and Iran. Others, however, say it wouldn't add any new sanctions on Iran.

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