TEHRAN/WASHINGTON – In a retaliatory action, Iran has designated the United States Central Command as a terrorist organization and the US government as a sponsor of terror.
Centcom is the Pentagon wing that oversees Washington’s security interests across the central area of the world map, most notably Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Syria.
In a televised address Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is protector of Iran.
“Who are you to label revolutionary institutions as terrorists?” he asked. “You are the leader of world terrorism.”
“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 added the US was the “leader of world terrorism”.
Earlier, US President Trump had designated the IRGC as terrorist organization. It is the first time the US has labelled another nation’s military in this way.
Trump’s statement on Monday said: “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.”
The president added that the move was meant to “significantly expand the scope and scale” of pressure on Iran.
Washington-Tehran tensions have risen since Trump withdrew the US from the international Iran nuclear pact.
Labelling the Guards as a terrorist organisation will allow the US to impose further sanctions – particularly affecting the business sector, given the IRGC’s involvement in Iran’s economy.
Iran’s most elite military unit, the IRGC was set up shortly after the 1979 Iranian revolution to defend the country’s Islamic system, and to provide a counterweight to the regular armed forces. The IRGC is estimated to have more than 150,000 active personnel, boasts its own ground forces, navy and air force, and oversees Iran’s strategic weapons, including its ballistic missiles.
