Iran advances bill to retaliate for US action on elite forces

The bill declares that US Central Command forces in West Asia and any organizations or bodies working under them against Iran are terrorists.

Iran’s parliament approved the outlines of a bill to retaliate for the US designation of the Revolutionary Guards Corp as a terrorist organization, Ali Najafi-Khoshroudi, spokesman for parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, was cited as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Iran’s parliament approved the outlines of a bill to retaliate for the US designation of the Revolutionary Guards Corp as a terrorist organization, Ali Najafi-Khoshroudi, spokesman for parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, was cited as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. (AFP)

The bill declares that US Central Command forces in West Asia and any organizations or bodies working under them against Iran are terrorists. It further states that any financial, technical and training support, services and supplies to these forces will be regarded as engaging in an act of terrorism.

The Wall Street Journal on April 6 cited unidentified US officials as saying that the terrorism designation of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards was planned, backed by National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Central Intelligence Agency and Pentagon warned against it, the Journal reported.

A designation would be the latest in a salvo of offensive measures taken by the Trump administration against Iran as it seeks to isolate and weaken a country it says is destabilizing the Middle East. The US last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on the oil-rich Persian Gulf state’s economy with a vow to wipe out its crude exports.

The full parliament will discuss the measure on Monday after the national security and foreign policy commission’s first review.