US blacklisting of Guards a vicious move, says Iran’s Khamenei
Supreme leader controls the 125,000-strong Revolutionary Guards and President Hassan Rouhani says the move will unite Iranians
Dubai — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US had made “a vicious move” in designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which he controls, as a foreign terrorist organisation, state TV reported on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump designated Iran’s Guards a foreign terrorist organisation on Monday, an unprecedented step that will raise tensions in the Middle East. “They wish to plot against our Sepah [the Guards] … it is in the frontline of confronting enemies of our [1979 Islamic] revolution and has always defended the country … America has failed to block our advancements,” Khamenei said, addressing a group of Guards. “In spite of all the pressure in the past 40 years, Americans have failed to do a damn thing and their vicious move will bear no fruit.” Iran President Hassan Rouhani also defended the corps as protectors of Iran, saying in a televised speech that the US holds a grudge against the Guards who have sacrificed their lives to protect “our peop...
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