Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has condemned the decision by the United States to put Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on its foreign terrorist organization (FTO) list.
In a televised speech on April 9, Rouhani said Washington's move was a "mistake" and asserted that the United States is the real "leader of world terrorism."
"Who are you to label revolutionary institutions as terrorists?" Rouhani said. He claimed that the United States wants "to use terrorist groups as tools against the nations of the region."
His remarks came a day after President Donald Trump announced the decision to place the IRCG on the State Department list of foreign terrorist organizations, the first time the United States has designated a state entity of another government as a terrorist organization.
The United States has already blacklisted dozens of entities and people for affiliations with the IRGC, but not the organization as a whole.
Trump said in a statement on April 8 that Washington will continue to increase financial pressure and raise the costs on Iran "for its support of terrorist activity."
Tehran responded in kind, announcing a couple of hours later that its top security council has designated the United States a "state sponsor of terrorism" and U.S. forces in the region "terrorist groups."
Iranian lawmakers chanted "Death to America" as parliament convened an open session on April 9.
