The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Sunday that if the U.S. designates the IRGC as a terrorist organization, Iran will in turn designate the U.S. Army as a terror group.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the IRGC, warned that if the “stupid US administration” declares the IRGC to be a terror group, Iran will treat the U.S. Army like the Islamic State, reports Fars News, semi-official media organ of the Iranian regime.
“If reports prove to be true that the stupid US administration intends to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, then the IRGC will also specify the US army as a group (and target) like ISIL in all parts of the world, specially the Middle-East,” Jafari said.
A senior U.S. administration official told Financial Times that President Donald Trump will designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization some time this week. Trump also reportedly intends to decertify the Iranian nuclear deal struck in 2015, but he will not impose wide-ranging sanctions, preferring instead just to target the IRGC with sanctions. This could entail financial sanctions on anyone who elects to do business with the IRGC.
Jafari also mentioned that if the U.S. slaps on new sanctions, it would be smart for the U.S. to “transfer its regional bases to 2,000km away, that is as far as the range of Iranian missiles.”
The U.S. has numerous military bases within 500 kilometers (310 miles) of Iran, namely in countries like Bahrain, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Notably, the U.S. Treasury Department has already designated the IRGC Qods Force, a wing of the IRGC, a terrorist entity back in 2007, but stopped short of declaring the entire IRGC a terrorist entity.
COMPARE OBAMA AND TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY AGENDAS:
Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter
Send tips to jonah@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.