Commander Calls US Blacklisting of IRGC ‘Laughable’

“This action by the Americans is very laughable because the IRGC is in the hearts of the (Iranian) people and our credibility has not been gained from Americans but from the dear and honest people of Iran,” Major General Jafari said on Tuesday in his first remarks after the US move to blacklist the IRGC.

“We powerfully announce, and we are even ready to provide this information to them, that in the next year, the IRGC will be more powerful than before in its defensive and offensive systems with the grace of God,” the commander stated.

He further pointed to the unity of the Iranian Armed Forces and said, “(to the enemies’ dismay), the IRGC and the Army will stand together and support the deprived and the oppressed everywhere in the world, and have no fear”.

The remarks came after the Trump administration on Monday labeled IRGC as a “terrorist group” at the behest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israelis headed to the polls on Tuesday to elect the 120 members of the 21st Knesset (parliament). On the eve of the vote, Netanyahu took credit for Trump’s decision to blacklist IRGC.

“Thank you, my dear friend, President Donald Trump,” Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew, “for answering another one of my important requests.”

On Monday, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in turn, designated US forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a terrorist organization.

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