Al Monitor - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced today that the United States would designate the�Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps�(IRGC) as a �foreign terrorist organization.� The Wall Street Journal�reported April 5 that as early as this week President Donald Trump would�designate the IRGC as a �foreign terrorist organization,� an unprecedented move against a national armed force.


Iranian officials, as expected, have condemned the move by the United States. One of the first responses came from the commander of the IRGC, Mohammad Ali Jafari. �In case of such stupidity, the army and security forces of America in West Asia will�no longer have the calm�of today,� Jafari said April 7. When asked what the IRGC would do, Jafari replied, �If the Americans make such a stupid decision and endanger our national security, in accordance with the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, we will make operational similar countermeasures.�


Ebrahim Raisi, the newly appointed judiciary chief and a rising star�in the Islamic Republic,�condemned the�potential designation�and accused the United States of being a supporter of terrorism. �A country that has nothing but arming, guiding and giving refuge to terrorists in its track record is labeling the armed forces of another country terrorist,� Raisi said. He added that such an action �has no political or legal validity,� but asked the Foreign Ministry and the Supreme National Security Council to respond with similar measures.


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