Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) "is at the vanguard of fighting terrorism" and the US' blacklisting of the elite force stems from Washington's infuriation at the IRGC's leading role in the fight against terrorism. RNA - “Enemies have failed to achieve their goals in the region, knowing that the IRGC has had a leading role in their defeat, so they are angry and therefore they resort to unwise measures,” Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump on Monday released a statement, designating the IRGC as “a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
Rouhani said the US move defied logic and contravened international rules and regulations, and noted it was propaganda and a politically-motivated, unwise and silly decision.
“The Americans should know that they are the source of oppression, cruelty and terrorism in the region, and regional countries, particularly the Iranian nation, have rushed to help one another in hard times, with the IRGC playing an outstanding role in this regard,” he added.
He said the US had employed all it had in power against Iran over the past 40 years but warned Washington against “acting beyond its rhetoric,” saying it will face serious problems.
Rouhani said that the US blacklisting of the IRGC and its recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s Golan Heights were meant to support a “criminal” regime in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in elections.
Netanyahu had openly said that Trump designated the IRGC as a terror organization at his request, he added.
The Iranian president however, said that the US cannot drive a wedge between the Iranian nation and the IRGC through such measures, and called on Iranians to maintain their solidarity, coherence and unity in the face of US plots.
Trump blacklisted IRGC to secure vote for next election
Meanwhile, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, reacted to the US blacklisting of the IRGC and said the Israeli regime, the Zionist lobby and America’s Israel lobby group AIPAC had the essential role in the decision.
He said Trump’s move was meant to secure vote for the next US presidential election.
Safavi, who was a former IRGC chief commander, said the US move would force Washington to withdraw American troops from the region earlier than planned given Iran’s warnings and its reciprocal move to put US forces in West Asia on its terror blacklist.
847/940