Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the United States' designation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, Tuesday, saying the Guards had confronted enemies at home and abroad, state TV reported.
"Our Sepah [the Guards] is on the front line of confronting enemies of our [1979 Iranian] revolution and has always defended the country. … America has failed to block our advancements," Khamenei told a group of members of the Guards.
President Hassan Rouhani also defended the Revolutionary Guards as protectors of Iran in a speech marking Iran's Nuclear Day.
"How can you expect the Guards not to be the target of vengeance and anger from the Americans and the Zionists? They have tried to hatch plots against the Iranian nation over the last 40 years and each time their conspiracies have been defeated.
He said, "Today, the Americans and those who are part of the global arrogance, want to avenge their defeats and failures through labeling as 'terrorist" a group whose actions and endeavors have always been focused on fighting terrorists. No one in this world, no country on earth can claim that it has suffered more from terrorism than Iran. The Iranian nation has been the victim of terrorism that has been nurtured, organized, armed and instructed by world powers."
Rouhani warned U.S. leaders, "If you pressure us, we will mass produce IR8 advanced centrifuges."
Earlier Tuesday, Rouhani unveiled dozens of unspecified "achievements" in nuclear technology, something he does every year. This time he touted the beginning of an installation of a chain of advanced centrifuges at the uranium enrichment facility in the central town of Natanz as well as an addition at the Fordo underground facility.
Chanting "Death to America," Iranian lawmakers convened an open session of parliament, Tuesday, following the White House's move, an unprecedented declaration against a foreign government that could make it harder for Americans to work with allies in the region.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council immediately responded by designating the U.S. Central Command, also known as CENTCOM, and all its forces as terrorist, and labeling the U.S. a "supporter of terrorism."
It was the first time the United States has designated an entity of another government as a terrorist organization, placing a group with vast economic resources that answers only to Iran's supreme leader in the same category as al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
In Tehran, the semiofficial Fars news agency said many of the lawmakers wore the uniform of the guard in a show of support for the force as they convened for a parliament session marking the National Day of the Revolutionary Guard, which follows the lunar calendar. This year it coincides with the April 9 holiday known as Nuclear Day.
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani denounced the U.S. decision as the "climax of stupidity and ignorance." Supreme National Security Council's spokesman, Keivan Khosravi, said that going forward, "any unusual move by American forces in the region will be perceived as the behavior by a terrorist group." He did not elaborate.
Iranian newspapers carried reports of the U.S. move along with bellicose commentary on their front pages.
The Guard-affiliated Javan daily said any attack on Revolutionary Guard bases and facilities will be "recognized as a right" for Iran to respond. The hard-line Kayhan newspaper said it gave Iranians "permission" to kill American military personnel.
The state-owned IRAN daily went a step further, saying the U.S. move was a "designation of the entire Iranian nation" as terrorist.
The pro-reform Shargh daily described it as "the last card" of President Donald Trump against Iran. Trump last year pulled America out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and re-imposed sanctions on the country, mainly targeting Iran's vital oil sector.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the designation of the Revolutionary Guard was intended to increase pressure on Iran, isolating it further and diverting some of the financial resources it uses to fund terrorism and terrorist activity in the Middle East and beyond.
Saudi Arabia welcomed the U.S. decision to designate the Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization.
Saudi Arabia, led by a Sunni Muslim royal family, has accused Shiite Muslim Iran of interfering in its and other Middle Eastern countries' internal affairs. Iran and Saudi Arabia have been fighting proxy wars for years, backing opposing sides in conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
"The U.S. decision translates the Kingdom's repeated demands to the international community of the necessity of confronting terrorism supported by Iran," SPA news agency said, citing a Foreign Ministry source, Tuesday.
But in addition to the potential for Iranian retaliation, it complicates a delicate balance for U.S. personnel in at least two key countries – Iraq and Lebanon. Iraq has prominent Iranian-affiliated Shiite militias and its government has strong ties to Iran. In Lebanon, the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group is in parliament and the government.
