Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the United States’ hostile measures against the country’s military forces will be fruitless and backfire.
“The Americans think they are plotting against the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and in fact against Iran and its revolution … but such hostile policies will not lead anywhere and [the effects of] their schemes will backfire,” he said in a meeting with members of IRGC and their families in Tehran on Tuesday, his website reported.
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday his administration’s plan to designate IRGC, including its Quds Force, which is in charge of overseas operations, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
In response to the move by the White House, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council placed the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for the Middle East and Central Asia, on Iran’s list of terrorist groups at the suggestion of the Foreign Ministry.
The designation is the first time that the United States has ever named a military force of another government as an FTO.
Ayatollah Khamenei said IRGC’s key role in defending the country and the revolution is the reason behind the US hostility.
In response to the US move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, Araqchi said, “From now on, Americans in their bases in the region are not deemed soldiers. In our view, the bases are terrorist bases and the stationed forces are terrorists and will be treated accordingly”
“IRGC is a prominent establishment that has been in the frontline of fighting enemies in all battlefields. Enemies of Iran have been imposing all sorts of political, economic and propagandist pressure against the people for 40 years … but they have not achieved their goals,” he said.
The recent move is part of the US administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran that was launched after Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal last May.
“This action will significantly expand the scope and scale of our maximum pressure on the Iranian [government]. It makes crystal clear the risks of conducting business with, or providing support to, the IRGC. If you are doing business with the IRGC, you will be bankrolling terrorism,” the statement on the website of the White House contended.
Strategic Mistake
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described the recent measure as a “political and strategic mistake”, adding that the US has crossed one of the Islamic Republic’s redlines.
“The decision is a critical development in Tehran-Washington relations and will meet Iran’s strong and direct response,” he said in an interview on state television on Monday, IRNA reported.
He also warned of the consequences of the designation for American troops in the region, including in the Persian Gulf which is largely guarded by IRGC.
“From now on, Americans in their bases in the region are not deemed soldiers. In our view, the bases are terrorist bases and the stationed forces are terrorists and will be treated accordingly,” he said.
Araqchi stressed that Iran had earlier warned the US of reciprocal action and it should accept responsibility for the repercussions.
President Hassan Rouhani also said the announcement will not receive the widespread support of international community and will meet the same fate of Trump’s other decisions.
“You are trading the interests of the US and the world for that of the Zionists and this is your biggest mistake,” he said in a speech marking Iran’s National Nuclear Technology Day, his website reported.
Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif also posted on his Twitter account a page of an Israeli news website reporting that the decision was made at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose continued hold on power will be decided in the elections scheduled for Tuesday.
“A[nother] misguided election-eve gift to Netanyahu. A[nother] dangerous US misadventure in the region,” he tweeted.
