President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would be willing to eliminate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps entirely, comparing it to the U.S.-backed campaign that dismantled the Islamic State’s territorial caliphate in 2019, as fighting between Washington and Tehran entered a fifth consecutive day.
Speaking in a Fox Business interview, Trump was asked whether his conclusion that the IRGC cannot be negotiated with meant he might seek to destroy the force altogether, similar to the anti-ISIS campaign carried out with Iraqi ground forces and U.S. backing. Trump confirmed he would be open to that outcome if necessary, without laying out specific plans or a timeline.
The remarks came as U.S. Central Command carried out a second wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, aimed at degrading Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s foreign ministry said the same day that it currently has no plans to return to the negotiating table. Trump separately announced that Iran had released an American woman who had been detained in the country since December 2024, calling it a gesture of goodwill.
The threat adds to a broader campaign of pressure on the IRGC. Britain designated the force a terrorist organization on Monday, following similar earlier moves by the United States, Canada, Australia and the European Union. The U.S. previously imposed a naval blockade on Iran between April and June, disabling or redirecting more than 140 vessels attempting to reach Iranian ports during that period; Washington reimposed the blockade this week after Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping in the strait.
