A senior Iranian general has called the US president the ‘American twin’ of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, responding to rumors that the Trump administration is considering designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as terrorists.
Both Trump and Al-Baghdadi display “lack of trust in all principles and regulations of diplomacy and sovereignty in today’s world,” Brigadier General Rasoul Sanayee Rad, deputy commander for political affairs of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), wrote in an opinion piece quoted by the IRGC outlet Basirat.
One is building a caliphate and the other is invading other countries, the Iranian general argued.
“Using the logic of threat and force in order to advance their objectives, and reliance on their bullying and tyrannical temperament” was another item on Rad’s list.
“One of them is propped up by terrorists, and the other by extremist hawks, and both are being used as instruments to trigger chaos and instability,” the general continued.
Rad also compared Trump’s consideration of designating IRGC as a terrorist organization with Baghdadi’s labelling of Iranians as “infidels and disbelievers.”
“Trump’s historic mistake, too, has prompted the IRGC commander to say that he will regard the US as a follower of ISIS in the region if Washington puts the IRGC on its terror list,” Rad said.
The Trump administration has not yet designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization but it is reportedly considering the move. The IRGC is part of Iranian armed forces, and Washington has already called Iran the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
Trump said he may soon de-certify the nuclear deal with Iran, even though his administration officials say Tehran has so far complied with the agreement, brokered by world powers two years ago to make sure Iran does not build nuclear weapons.
“We cannot let a murderous regime continue these destabilizing activities,” Trump told the UN General Assembly in September, citing Tehran’s support for Hezbollah, the Syrian government, as well as for Shia Houthis in the Yemeni civil war.
Iran will offer a “tougher response,” if the US breaks the nuclear deal, the Fars news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying Monday. Tehran “will never renegotiate” the deal, Zarif said.
America’s Europeans allies have warned Trump that the deal will stand even if he decides to pull out of it.
Possible US moves to decertify the Iranian nuclear agreement is “unjustifiable,” Austria’s envoy to the UN said this week.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May, too, urged Trump in their latest phone call to recertify the nuclear deal with Iran, saying it is "vitally important for regional security." British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called the deal "an historic achievement," ahead of a meeting with Iranian Vice President Dr Ali Akhbar Salehi in London on Wednesday.