US designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group
Iran condemns the decision as illegal
Washington/Dubai — US President Donald Trump on Monday branded Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation, an unprecedented step that raises the spectre of retaliation from Tehran in an increasingly tense Middle East. It is the first time the US has formally designated another country's military a terrorist group. "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard is the Iranian government’s primary means of directing and implementing its global terrorist campaign," Trump said in a statement. Iran condemned the decision as an illegal act prompted by Tehran's regional influence and "success in fighting against Islamic State", according to state television. Tensions between the two countries have grown since Trump pulled the US out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran last May and reimposed sanctions that had crippled Iran's economy. Trump said the accord did not address Iran's ballistic missile activity or what he saw as its malign influence in the region. Set up after the 1979...
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