IRGC to View US Troopers as ISIS Terrorists Anywhere in World: Commander

IRGC Chief-Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari referred to the reports about the US government’s “stupid” move to designate IRGC as a terrorist organization, and said, “If such reports prove true, the IRGC will consider the US army to be synonymous with ISIS terrorists anywhere in the world, particularly in the Middle East.”

Addressing a group of senior IRGC commanders on Sunday, General Jafari pointed to the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act”, which was signed into law by Trump in August and allows the president to impose fresh sanctions against Tehran, and said, “If the US administration implements the CAATSA, the Islamic Republic of Iran will view it as Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal.”

He also reiterated that in case the Act is implemented, the US must move its regional bases outside the striking range of Iranian missiles, which means 2,000 km away from Iran’s borders.

He stressed that if new sanctions are imposed on Iran, the chance for any interaction will be lost forever. “These sanctions will complete the experience of JCPOA for us: Iran will then become confident that dialogue for US is an instrument of pressure and hostility not interaction or problem solving.”

General Jafari further noted that if Americans are taking such measures in order to ultimately take Iran to the negotiating table on regional issues, they have chosen a totally wrong path.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran seeks to resolve regional issues in a place other than the negotiating table, as there is nothing to talk about and there is no side to negotiate with.”

“The US behaviour towards Iran proved that we cannot set our foreign policy only based on the nuclear deal,” he added.

“The Americans should know that the Islamic Republic of Iran will use the Trump administration’s stupid behaviour as an opportunity to enhance its conventional missile, regional, and defensive programs,” General Jafari underlined.

The IRGC Commander’s remarks came after the Financial Times reported that Trump is expected to designate IRGC as a terrorist organization next week as part of a new hardline strategy against the Islamic Republic.

A senior US administration official said the US president, who is poised to decertify JCPOA next week, will not seek the re-imposition of broad sanctions that would risk collapsing the 2015 accord.

But Trump is expected to announce new measures against Iran, including the prospect of additional targeted sanctions, the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization and the adoption of a tougher stance on Iranian proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, according to a person briefed on the matter.