IRNA – Iran ambassador to China in a letter to Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretary General Vladimir Norov stressed the fact that the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has always been in the frontline of fighting against terrorist groups.

Mohammad Keshavarz Zadeh noted in his letter that he was trying to draw the attention to the cooperation plan which has been drawn up by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to combat the 'Three Evil Forces' of terrorism, extremism and separatism, and it is notable in this regard that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have always been in the frontline of fighting against aforementioned Three Evil Forces.

He said that 'the IRGC unlike United States and its regional allies who have always supported so many different extremist, separatist and terrorist groups in the West Asia region, have made a lot of efforts in combating the Three Evil Forces so that they achieved valuable successes to defeat many of those terrorist groups such as ISIS/Daesh.'

He went on to say that 'In the meantime, it is quite questionable that Trump unprecedentedly decided to designate IRGC which is a part of Iranian armed forces, as a foreign terrorist organ.

It is clearly crystal that Iran's constructive role in the region and its recent successes in fighting against ISIS/Daesh are the main reasons behind such an unconventional active hostility.

Moreover, the move contradicted international law, as well as purposes and principles of the United Nation's Charter regarding the sovereign equality which has been emphasized in the United Nation's Charter explicitly. '
He further stressed that 'as you are well aware, according to the international law no other country has the legal right to designate another country's part of government as a terrorist organization.

Considering dangerous consequences of institutionalization and generalizing such an arbitrary unilateral decision for all other independent sovereign states, I am quite confident that it will be unacceptable for the international community and never be regarded as a legitimate act by any country.'

The Iranian official said that 'Acknowledging Shanghai Cooperation Organization's principled position regarding the importance of the rule of law and respecting sovereignty of all states for the secretariat to condemn the above mentioned illegal act of the United States with a definitive statement.'

The US President Donald Trump on Monday officially labeled IRGC, a part of Iran's Armed Forces, a terrorist organization.

The Iranian forces in coordination with governments in Iraq and Syria has played a military advisory role in fighting the terrorist group in both countries. Iraq in 2017 officially announced the defeat of Daesh, while Syria has managed to retake most of the fallen areas from the terrorists.

The latest anti-Iran move of Trump received fierce reactions from Iranian officials. The country's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani called for a retaliatory move by labeling the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization and the US government as a terrorist sponsor.

Zarif also called the move as 'another misguided election-eve gift to Netanyahu”.

The members of Iranian parliament at Tuesday's session, coincided with the Iranian national day of Guards, showed up in official uniforms of IRGC to announce their support and solidarity with the forces.