LONDON: Iran told the United States on Tuesday that it will keep “all options on table” if President Donald Trump designates its elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
It came a day after the government said Washington itself would be aiding terrorism if it took such an action.
US President Donald Trump is expected to announce this week his final decision on how he wants to contain Iran’s regional influence. He is also expected to designate Iran’s most powerful security force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp. as a terrorist organization.
US sanctions on the IRGC could affect conflicts in Iraq and Syria, where Tehran and Washington support warring parties that oppose the Daesh militant group.
“The Americans ... are too small to be able to harm the Revolutionary Guards,” Ali Akbar Velayati, the top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by ISNA.
“We have all options on the table. Whatever they do, we will take reciprocal measures,” he added.
Iranian government spokesman also said that the world should be “thankful” to the Revolutionary Guards for its fight against Daesh and other terrorist groups.
“By taking a stance against the Revolutionary Guards and designating it a terrorist group, the Americans would be joining the terrorists’ camp,” Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said in a weekly news conference broadcast live on state television.
Trump is expected to “decertify” a landmark 2015 deal Iran struck with world powers to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of most international sanctions.
Trump’s announcement would stop short of pulling out of the agreement but give Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions.
IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Sunday that if Washington designated the Guards a terrorist organization, they “will consider the American army to be like Islamic State all around the world.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Monday that Tehran would give a “firm, decisive and crushing” response if the United States goes ahead with such a plan.
Iran has “all options on table” if US blacklists Revolutionary Guards
Iran has “all options on table” if US blacklists Revolutionary Guards
Palestine, Egypt officials discuss Gaza safety, security
- Talks also on strategies for stability in Israeli-ravaged Occupied Territories
LONDON: Hussein Al-Sheikh, deputy president of the Palestinian Authority, discussed security and diplomatic issues during separate meetings in Cairo with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati and Hassan Rashad, director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service.
Al-Sheikh briefed Egyptian officials on the latest developments regarding the Occupied Territories, in the presence of Maj. Gen. Majed Faraj, head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service.
The discussion on Sunday also focused on strategies for achieving stability and security for the Palestinian people, and progressing to the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, as reported by the Wafa news agency.
Officials aim to improve coordination and consultation to tackle the challenges facing the Israeli-ravaged Palestine and the wider region.
Al-Sheikh might become Palestine’s president in the event of a power vacuum in the Palestinian Authority, currently led by 90-year-old Mahmoud Abbas.
