An internal State Department cable dated March 16 and seen by Reuters shows the Trump administration urged U.S. diplomats worldwide on Monday to press allied governments to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Lebanon-based Hezbollah as terrorist organizations, citing an “elevated risk of attack.” The directive, signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked posts to deliver the message “at the highest appropriate level” and no later than March 20, and to coordinate advocacy with Israeli counterparts.
The cable was distributed to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts and frames the push as part of broader efforts to tighten pressure on Tehran and its regional partners. It calls on allies to act quickly to “diminish the capabilities of Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist groups” that could threaten nations and citizens.
Washington is seeking to rally allies that have been reluctant to join its campaign. The cable notes many partners were not briefed ahead of a U.S.-Israeli air campaign that began two weeks earlier, and some have shown limited appetite for further military involvement.
In a sign of resistance to U.S. requests, several allied countries told officials they had no immediate plans to send ships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, rebuffing a U.S. appeal to keep the strategically vital oil shipping route open.
The cable does not provide new evidence for the claimed “elevated risk” but cites past examples of Tehran’s attacks on neighbors and urges collective action. One talking point reads: “With the elevated risk of attack from Iran and its partners and proxies, all governments must move expeditiously to diminish the capabilities of Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist groups from attacking our respective nations and citizens.”
The document explains the IRGC is an elite force tasked with protecting Iran’s clerical rule and controls significant economic interests; it notes both the IRGC and Hezbollah are already designated as terrorist organizations by the United States and some other countries.
“We assess that the Iranian regime is more sensitive to collective action than unilateral action, and that joint pressure is more likely to compel behavior change by the regime than unilateral actions alone,” the cable states. A State Department spokesperson said, “President Trump is focused on securing peace in the Middle East. The IRGC, Hezbollah, and other Iranian backed proxies destabilize governments and undermine regional peace.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-war-marco-rubio-urges-us-allies-to-blacklist-irans-military-hezbollah-11225379#publisher=newsstand
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Publish Date: 2026-03-17 06:33:00
