The SNSC on Monday declared the United States a “terrorist government”, and blacklisted the "CENTCOM and all its affiliates a terrorist group” to reciprocate Washington's controversial decision to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
In a statement issued on Monday evening, the SNSC - that is headed by President Hassan Rouhani - condemned Washington's move, calling it “an illegal and dangerous action” that poses a “major threat to regional and international peace and security and grossly violates the rules of international law".
The statement further condemned the US decision as “unlawful and unreasonable action” prompted by the Islamic Republic's regional influence and success in fighting against terrorists, and blamed CENTCOM for harming Iran’s national security as well as ruining the lives of “innocent Iranian and non-Iranian individuals” to promote the US “aggressive policies” in West Asia (the Middle-East).
"The Islamic Republic of Iran regards this baseless move as a major threat to regional and international peace and security and a blatant violation of the compelling rules of international law and the United Nations Charter," Iran's top security body reiterated.
The statement specifically mentioned that the US is “involved” in the killing of people in Yemen, as tens of thousands of people have been killed since the Saudi-led brutal bombing campaign began in March 2015.
The US and its allies “have always been advocates of extremist groups and terrorists in West Asian region”, the SNSC said, adding that Washington has to take responsibility for “the dangerous consequences of its adventures”.
The move by Tehran came just minutes after the United States designated IRGC as a “terrorist organization”, accusing the elite force of financing and promoting terrorism in the region.
US President Donald Trump released a statement earlier this evening to officially declare the decision. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also held a press conference on the matter, explaining that the Washington designation is set to take effect in one week.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton did not pull punches on Iran either, taking to Twitter to reiterate the statement of his boss.
Many political commentators and officials from the US and Iran have voiced their concerns over the consequences of the move for the American troops in the Middle East in particular and the international security in general.
"The IRGC has been a main party in annihilating terrorism in the region," Political commentator Seyed Mostafa Khoshchashm told FNA, adding that the US move would be favored not just by Saudi Arabia and Israel, but also terrorist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as ISIS/ISIS and DAESH).
He cautioned that the indifference of the world, specially global actors, to the decision would bring them dire costs, stressing, "In other words, all the world states are forced by Trump to pay the costs of his undigested and ill-assessed policy making moves."