Iran's Supreme National Security Council: U.S. Central Command and All Associated Forces are a 'Terrorist Group'

Iran's Supreme National Security Council announced that in response to U.S. actions, it considers the 'U.S. Central Command' in West Asia, known as CENTCOM, and all associated forces as a 'terrorist group.' The council emphasized that the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a 'foreign terrorist organization' by the U.S. poses a 'major threat to regional and international peace and security and constitutes a clear violation of peremptory norms of international law and the United Nations Charter.' The statement stressed that the United States 'will bear all responsibilities for the dangerous consequences of this adventurous action.' Just minutes before the announcement, Iran's Foreign Minister had requested in a letter to the President and the Supreme National Security Council that the names of U.S. military forces in the West Asia region (CENTCOM) be added to the list of 'terrorist groups' of the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Javad Zarif made this proposal based on the 'Law on Countering Human Rights Violations and Adventurous and Terrorist Actions of the U.S. in the Region,' which was approved by the Iranian Parliament. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament, also stated that 'in less than a few hours' U.S. military personnel would be placed on the list of 'terrorist groups.' According to Mr. Falahatpisheh, under the law passed by Parliament, the government is obliged to list U.S. military personnel as 'terrorist groups.' This law was passed last year in response to a U.S. congressional resolution intensifying sanctions against Iran. At that time, some experts had stated that this law only had a propaganda aspect and that Iran's retaliatory actions would not pose a threat to U.S. interests. Before the official announcement of the U.S. government's decision, Ali Najafi Khoshroodi, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament, quoted Mr. Zarif as saying that Iran would take 'reciprocal action' in this regard. According to Mr. Najafi, Iran wrote a letter to the Swiss Embassy, which represents U.S. interests, regarding the possibility of the IRGC being placed on the list of 'foreign terrorist organizations.' He did not mention the details of this letter. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, on Monday, April 8, placed the entire IRGC on the list of 'foreign terrorist organizations.' In recent days, officials of the Islamic Republic had warned that any potential U.S. action in this regard would have 'consequences' for its forces in the region. Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, had threatened before Trump's announcement that Tehran would place the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense on its list of 'terrorist groups.' Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the judiciary, also called for reciprocal action from the Islamic Republic. These threats come as the commander of the IRGC had stated on July 19, 2017, that if the KATSA law was implemented, the U.S. must remove its military bases in the region from the range of Iran's missiles, which is 2,000 kilometers. The U.S. Congress passed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in 2017, which was the basis for the IRGC being included in Executive Order 13224. However, despite both the Quds Force and the entire IRGC being placed on the terrorist list and sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, this is the first time the State Department has included the entire IRGC on its list. In this context, Pompeo stated: 'Any money that reaches the Islamic Republic will be spent on evil.' Netanyahu reacted to Shamkhani's remarks: 'We will prevent Iranian movements in Syria.' The leader of Hezbollah Lebanon once again requested financial assistance from his supporters. The Afghan Ministry of Defense denied reports of the return of 'Fatemiyoun' forces to the country. A two-part plan in Parliament to declare the U.S. Army as a 'terrorist organization.'