Washington: President Donald Trump announced Monday that the US is designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard a "foreign terrorist organisation", in an effort to increase pressure on the country that could have significant diplomatic implications in the Middle East.

It is the first time that the US has designated a part of another government as a terrorist organisation.

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The designation imposes sanctions that include freezes on assets the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may have in US jurisdictions and a ban on Americans doing business with it.

"This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, recognises the reality that Iran is not only a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft," Trump said in a statement.