TEHRAN – Iran’s ambassador to The Hague Alireza Kazemi Abadi says those who have created the al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIL) terrorist groups are now calling Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization.

This is while they themselves believe that the IRGC has fought against Daesh terrorists more than others, Kazemi Abadi said, Mehr reported on Monday.

He said under the Islamic Republic’s constitution, the IRGC is part of Iran’s armed forces and is tasked with protecting the Islamic Revolution.

The ambassador also said Iran has always been targeted by terrorist groups.

Last week, the United States officially designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organization”. The move came after U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration a week earlier. 

It was the first time the U.S. has declared an element of a foreign government to be a terrorist organization.

Minutes after Trump’s announcement, the Iranian Supreme National Security Council named the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) a terrorist organization, and the U.S. government a sponsor of terror.

It also condemned Trump’s move as “baseless” and warned of the consequences of its move for peace and security in the Middle East.

In recent months, the Trump administration has sought to impose “maximum pressure” on Iran, after abandoning the nuclear deal brokered during the Obama administration. Even before news emerged of a possible terrorism designation for the IRGC, more than 970 Iranian entities and individuals were already under U.S. sanctions.

MH/PA