Blacklisting IRGC, clear Zionist influence on US: MP

TEHRAN, Apr. 13 (MNA) – An Iranian lawmaker says the recent move by the United States to blacklist the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shows the clear influence of the Israeli lobby on Washington. Speaking to Mehr News correspondent on Saturday, Seyyed Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, a member of Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said "the Zionist lobby is clearly behind Washington’s decision to designate IRGC as a terrorist organization," stressing that the plan will lead to nowhere. The official said that labeling IRGC as a terrorist organization by the US will not inflict any harm on the elite force, but it will strengthen its power by uniting the Iranian nation and the armed forces. "The Zionist lobby has always wielded its influence on the American presidents, but their influence during Donald Trump’s tenure has been clearer than any other time." Naghavi Hosseini further said that Trump is only looking for ways to fulfill the Zionist regime’s wish to break the resolve of the people of the region by acts like recognizing Israeli sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights and recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital. The administration of US President Donald Trump designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization on Monday through an official statement. "This designation will be the first time that the United States has ever named a part of another government as a FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization)," Trump said in his statement, adding that this action will significantly expand the scope and scale of US maximum pressure on the Iranian government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump right away for his move against IRGC. In retaliation, Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has designated American forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a "terrorist organization." https://en.mehrnews.com/news/144032/ MNA