JEDDAH: Turkey and Qatar on Tuesday objected to US President Donald Trump’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group.
“The United States issued this one-sided decision in the context of sanctions and pressure on Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
“We do not support Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in Syria, but no country can declare another country’s armed forces a terrorist organization. We also do not support unilateral decisions.” Such measures “would lead to instability in the region,” Cavusoglu said.
Al-Thani said disagreements over the Iranian army’s behavior, or that of any other army, should not be solved by imposing sanctions.
Trump on Monday said he had officially decided to include the IRGC on the US list of terrorist organizations, marking the first time that America formally labels another nation’s military as a terrorist group.
In response, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council decided to include the US Central Command, which is responsible for American military activities in the Middle East and Central Asia, on Iran’s list of terrorist organizations.