DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Iran considers as "terrorist groups" the armies of EU countries that listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the bloc's list of terrorist organisations, Parliament
Iran considers EU armies as 'terrorist groups' in retaliatory move
Iran's Retaliatory Measures Against EU Designation
DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Iran considers as "terrorist groups" the armies of EU countries that listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the bloc's list of terrorist organisations, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Sunday.
The EU marked a symbolic shift in its approach to Iran's leadership on Thursday by designating the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, following what turned out to be the Islamic Republic's bloodiest crackdown of protests since its establishment in 1979.
"By trying to hit the Revolutionary Guards ... the Europeans actually shot themselves in the foot and once again made a decision against the interests of their people by blindly obeying the Americans," Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told his fellow MPs, all wearing Revolutionary Guards uniforms in support to the elite force.
Background on the Revolutionary Guards
"According to Article 7 of the law on countermeasures against the designation of the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, the armies of European countries are considered terrorist groups."
Implications for EU-Iran Relations
Set up after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi'ite clerical ruling system, the Revolutionary Guards have great sway in the country, controlling swathes of the economy and armed forces.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
