Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Bennett commends Biden for keeping IRGC on terror list

“This is the right, moral and correct decision. For this, I thank him,” said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett leads a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on Feb. 27, 2022. Photo by Yoav Ari Dudkevitch/Pool.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett leads a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on Feb. 27, 2022. Photo by Yoav Ari Dudkevitch/Pool.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett commended U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday for the White House’s decision to keep Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

“I commend the U.S. administration, led by my friend President Joe Biden, on the decision to keep the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in their rightful place,” said Bennett in a statement.

“President Biden is a true friend of Israel who is committed to its strength and security. Over the past few months, we made our stance clear—the IRGC is the world’s largest terror organization, involved in planning and carrying out deadly acts of terror and destabilizing the Middle East,” said the Israeli prime minister.

“This is the right, moral and correct decision by President Biden, who updated me on this decision during our last conversation. For this, I thank him,” he added.

Bennett and Biden last spoke directly on April 24.

According to a report by Politico, the president “finalized his decision to keep Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a terrorist blacklist, according to a senior Western official, further complicating international efforts to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.”

The report cited “another person familiar with the matter” stating that “Biden conveyed his decision during an April 24 phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett,” adding that “the decision was conveyed as absolutely final and the window for Iranian concessions had closed.”

“In this political environment, he may be as reliable a supporter as possible that the Democratic caucus would sign off on for the position,” political science scholar Dan Schnur told JNS.
“Anyone who attempts to pose a threat or attack Israel will face devastating consequences,” said Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the global body.
“I think they’re much more susceptible to being targeted if a public official wants to target them, if a community wants to target them,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer told JNS.
The reversal “sends an unfortunate signal at a time of rising antisemitism and sustained efforts to isolate Israel economically,” Evan R. Bernstein, CEO of B’nai B’rith International, told JNS.