Iran puts US forces in West Asia on its terror blacklist

Tehran:  Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Tuesday hit back at the United States government as "supporter of terrorism," designating American forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a "terrorist organization."

The Iranian top security council said the designation came as a "reciprocal measure" against US President Donald Trump's "illegal and unwise" move to blacklist Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization.

Trump said in a statement earlier in the day that the Iranian elite forces' designation "makes crystal clear the risks of conducting business with, or providing support to, the IRGC. If you are doing business with the IRGC, you will be bankrolling terrorism."

The SNSC strongly condemned the "illegal and dangerous" move by the US regime against the IRGC and said, "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."

It added that CENTCOM has been tasked with implementing terrorist policies of the US government against countries in West Asia, noting that CENTCOM's effort to impose those policies has endangered Iran's national security and the lives of both Iranians and non-Iranians, including through participation of the US in the massacre of the Yemeni people and other civilians in the West Asia region.

Iran's SNSC also warned that the US regime "will be responsible for dangerous consequences" of this adventurist measure."

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif proposed that the SNSC should add American forces in West Asia to its list of terrorist groups in the Islamic Republic.

In his letter to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who also chairs the SNSC, Zarif said given overt and covert support of US military forces in the region for terrorist groups and their direct involvement in terrorist acts, the SNSC should designate American forces as terrorists based on a law titled "Countering America's Human Rights Violation and Adventurous and Terrorist Actions" passed by the Iranian Parliament in 2017.

The US has already blacklisted dozens of entities and individuals affiliated with the IRGC, but not the entire force.