Alwaght- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned the US over a planned move to designate Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Rouhani said the IRGC is popular not only in Iran but also in regional countries.
If the US government makes the mistake of taking action against Iran's elite forces, it would be a double mistake, President Rouhani added.
“The IRGC is not just a military unit, but it has been in the hearts of the (Iranian) people and has defended our national interests in all times of danger,” he stressed.
President Rouhani further said the IRGC is also popular in Iraq because it has saved Baghdad, among Iraq’s Kurds because it has saved Erbil, and among the Syrian and Lebanese people because of its major efforts to combat terrorism.
US President Donald Trump is expected on October 15 to “decertify” a landmark 2015 international deal about Iran’s nuclear program, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Trump is also expected to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, as he rolls out a broader, more hawkish US strategy on Iran.
President Rohani also pointed out that the number of countries and regimes that support Washington’s hostile stance on the nuclear deal could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
On the contrary, he said, “Today, the world backs the path that the Islamic Republic of Iran has chosen and there is no one, even among the US’s allies in Europe, who supports destroying the agreement.”
In a recent interview with Forbes magazine, US President Donald Trump replied “No” to a question about whether he feels a responsibility to honor agreements from previous US administrations.
Referring to Trump’s comments, Rouhani said, “It is really a shame for a government whose argument that it opposes any work by the former legitimate government.”
Rouhani emphasized, “The JCPOA is a major test for world governments and that remaining committed to it constitutes a basis for confidence-building around the globe.”
“If the ill-wishing side, our rival and enemy, leaves an agreement, this is not a defeat for us, but rather a defeat for the opposite side,” he stressed.
Unlike the US, European countries as well as Russia and China have underlined the need to sustain the JCPOA.
