Rouhani calls US approach to dealing with IRGC "wrong"

The Iranian president described the designation of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by the United States as a “nasty announcement by the deceitful American government” and called it a “mistake.” The United States implemented the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization last Monday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, referring to the inclusion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the United States' list of terrorist organizations, called the US move "wrong and wrong."

Rouhani said today, Thursday, April 18, at the Islamic Republic's Army Day ceremony: "The leaders of the American regime are drowning in their own illusions. There is no doubt that today our armed forces are more powerful than ever."

The Iranian President added: "America is angry that the plan it designed as the plan of the century for this region cannot be carried forward due to the resistance of the Iranian nation and armed forces, but the path America has chosen is the wrong and erroneous path."

The US government last Monday implemented its intention to place the Revolutionary Guard Corps on the US list of terrorist organizations. This is the first time that the US has placed a country's main military force on its list of terrorist groups.

In another part of his speech today, Hassan Rouhani described the placing of the Revolutionary Guard Corps on the United States' list of terrorist groups as "an ugly declaration by the deceitful American government" and claimed that after this action, "all people were united with the IRGC and will be with the IRGC for the same reason that the IRGC has always been with the people and will remain with the people forever."

Rouhani also noted that “the IRGC is present throughout the country in all national and service arenas,” and said that “insulting the IRGC is an insult to the armed forces and an insult to the great nation of Iran.”

He also considered the "root" of all problems in the Middle East to be "either Zionism or American arrogance," and said that the countries in the region "have not had any problems with each other" and "if there is a problem, it is from others."

The United States accuses the Islamic Republic of contributing to instability in the region, particularly through its missile and space programs, threatening the existence of Israel, and "interfering" in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose mission is defined in Article 150 of the Islamic Republic's constitution as "guarding the revolution and its achievements," is accused by the United States of "terrorist activities" and destabilizing actions in countries in the region, including Syria and Iraq. Political critics of the Islamic Republic also accuse the Revolutionary Guard Corps of playing a role in persecuting dissidents and suppressing civil protests.

Source: DW