Iran declares European armies 'terrorist groups' in retaliatory move
Tehran moves to retaliate against the EU after the bloc labels its Revolutionary Guard Corps a "terrorist organisation".
Iran has declared European countries' armies "terrorist groups", the parliament speaker has said, following the EU's decision to apply the same designation to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Dressed in a Guards uniform in a show of solidarity, speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that under "Article 7 of the Law on Countermeasures Against the Declaration of the IRGC as a Terrorist Organisation, the armies of European countries are considered terrorist groups".
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 anti-government protests in Iran.
"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," Ghalibaf added.
Ghalibaf also added that the national security parliamentary commission would deliberate on the expulsion of EU countries' military attaches and follow up on the issue with the foreign ministry.
Set up after Iran's 1979 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.