Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday defended the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as protectors of Iran a day after the US labeled the group as a foreign terrorist organization.
US President Donald Trump on Monday designated Iran’s Guards a foreign terrorist organization — an unprecedented step that will raise tensions in the Middle East.
Relations between Tehran and Washington took a turn for the worse in May last year when Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, and reimposed sanctions.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The Guards have sacrificed their lives to protect our people, our [1979 Islamic] revolution ... but today, America, which holds a grudge against the Guards, blacklists the Guards,” Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state TV.
Tehran took retaliatory action by naming the US Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization and the US government as a sponsor of terror, and Iranian officials warned that the US’ move would endanger US interests in the region, where Iran is involved in proxy wars from Syria to Lebanon.
“This mistake will unite Iranians and the Guards will grow more popular in Iran and in the region... America has used terrorists as a tool in the region, while the Guards have fought against them from Iraq to Syria,” Rouhani said.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards commanders have repeatedly said that US bases in the Middle East and US aircraft carriers in the Gulf are within range of Iranian missiles.
Tehran has also threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf if the US tries to strangle Tehran’s economy by halting its oil exports.
Yesterday, Iranian archrival Saudi Arabia welcomed the US decision. The Sunni Muslim kingdom and Shiite Iran have been fighting proxy wars for years, backing opposing sides in conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and Riyadh accuses Tehran of interfering in its and other Middle Eastern countries’ internal affairs.
“The US decision translates the kingdom’s repeated demands to the international community of the necessity of confronting terrorism supported by Iran,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a source in the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry.
In a show of support yesterday, lawmakers wore Guards’ uniforms to the Iranian Parliament, chanting “Death to America” as Iran marked the annual National Day of the Revolutionary Guards, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
“America’s decision to label the Guards as a terrorist group was the peak of stupidity and ignorance of the American leadership,” Fars quoted parliament Speaker Ali Larijani as saying.
Iran has so far continued to comply with the nuclear deal, but Tehran’s clerical rulers have threatened to withdraw from it and to resume the suspended nuclear work if other signatories of the pact fail to protect Iran’s interests.
“I am telling you [American leaders], if you pressure us, we will mass produce IR8 advanced centrifuges,” Rouhani said in the speech marking Iran’s National Nuclear Day.
Iran has criticized the EU for failing to “honor its pledges” to protect trade with Iran. Rouhani, who could be weakened by a blow to Iran’s economy if the deal falls apart, struck a tough tone in his televised speech.
“We have been patient and will continue to be patient ... but our patience has a limit... Fulfill your commitments and respect your pledges,” Rouhani told the EU.
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