Zarif Describes US as Loser of Region's War on Terror

Iran's foreign minister has taken to task the countries which first created Takfiri terror groups like the ISIL to set the stage for waging wars under the pretext of fighting them, saying the blacklisting of Iran's IRGC by the US will not help those states revive the terror groups of their own making.

Calling those countries "losers of our region's War on Terror," Zarif wrote on his official Twitter page on Thursday that it was time for them to “face the fact that you've exhausted every wrong choice and scapegoating (Iran's IRGC) won’t be your panacea.”

The phrase "War on Terror" was first used by ex-US president George W. Bush in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York in 2001. He called on US allies to join Washington in a military campaign, which was claimed to be aimed at responding to the terrorist act.

"Losers of our region's War on Terror cannot rescind history. Targeting #IRGC won't revive ISIS and Nusra—their clients and very creations," Zarif said, apparently referring to the US and its allies, which have on numerous occasions intervened militarily in different regional countries under the guise of fighting terrorism.

Attached to the tweet was an image of an article published by the British Independent daily in 2014, when Daesh -- which was born from the ashes of al-Qaeda -- showed face in Iraq and Syria and made sweeping territorial gains in the two neighboring states.

In that article, Independent columnist Patrick Cockburn elaborated on the role that Saudi Arabia -- a close US ally in the Middle East -- played in Daesh's lightning advances in the northern oil-rich parts of Iraq.

The regime in Riyadh is widely viewed as a supporter of Daesh and other similar Takfiri militants, who are inspired by Wahhabism, a radical ideology dominating the Saudi kingdom and freely preached by its clerics.

It was the latest in a series of tweets by the top Iranian diplomat in condemnation of a decision on April 8 by US President Donald Trump to blacklist the elite IRGC force, which offered a helping hand to the national armies of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and paved the way for them to rid their countries of Daesh terrorists in late 2017.

The United States on Monday designated the IRGC as a "foreign terrorist organization", marking the first time Washington has formally labelled another country's military a "terrorist group".

Responding to Washington's move, Iran immediately declared the US as "state sponsor of terrorism" and American forces in the region "terrorist groups".

Iran's top security body, the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), in a statement issued on Monday evening declared the United States a “terrorist government”, and blacklisted the "CENTCOM and all its affiliates a terrorist group”.

The SNSC - that is headed by President Hassan Rouhani - condemned Washington's move, calling it “an illegal and dangerous action” that poses a “major threat to regional and international peace and security and grossly violates the rules of international law".

The statement further condemned the US decision as “unlawful and unreasonable action” prompted by the Islamic Republic's regional influence and success in fighting against terrorists, and blamed CENTCOM for harming Iran’s national security as well as ruining the lives of “innocent Iranian and non-Iranian individuals” to promote the US “aggressive policies” in West Asia (the Middle-East).

"The Islamic Republic of Iran regards this baseless move as a major threat to regional and international peace and security and a blatant violation of the compelling rules of international law and the United Nations Charter," Iran's top security body reiterated.

Earlier, Zarif had asked Iranian President Rouhani to designate the CENTCOM as a terrorist organization.

Due to the “clear support” US forces in Western Asia lend to terrorist groups, and their own “involvement in terrorist activities”, the US military in the region should be put on a list of terrorist groups in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Zarif said in a letter to Rouhani and Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Also in a tweet on Monday, the Iranian top diplomat slammed the decision by the US administration on labeling the IRGC a "foreign terrorist organization", seeing Trump's close ties with Netanyahu as a main contributor to the gravely wrong move made by the US president ahead of the Tuesday election in Israel.

"A(nother) misguided election-eve gift to Netanyahu. A(nother) dangerous US misadventure in the region," Zarif wrote on Twitter on Monday, referring to the IRGC designation as yet another move by the US president in aid of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Trump's recent decision to recognize Israel's annexation of the Syrian Golan Height.

The US' Golan Heights decision, which is in obvious contravention of international law, has been met with condemnation by the international community, with the UN and even Washington's Persian Gulf and European allies blasting the move.

Netanyahu welcomed the US decision to label Iran’s IRGC a “terrorist organization”, rushing to thank his “dear friend” Trump for answering “another important request that serves the interests of our country and the region”.

“We will continue to act together in any way against the Iranian regime that threatens the state of Israel, the United States and the peace of the world,” the Israeli PM wrote on Twitter.

With Israel’s election to take place on Tuesday, the Israeli primer is likely grateful for the latest public show of Trump support for his government. The right-wing Likud party, led by Netanyahu, and Blue and White political alliance, led by former Israeli Defense Forces chief Benny Gantz, who threatens to end Netanyahu’s decade-long tenure, are considered the main rivals in the polls to elect members of Knesset (Israel's parliament).

The Israeli regime’s traditionally close relationship with the US has grown stronger under Trump. Washington recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the Israeli “capital” in December 2017 and moved the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the ancient city in May 2018, sparking global condemnations.

Responding to the US hostility towards the IRGC, General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces declared in a statement on Tuesday that the forces under its command would fight against the US Central Command known as CENTCOM "terrorist group".

"The US administration's move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist group is actually a desperate attempt and retaliation to cap the US failures in the region and of course, it lacks operational value and validity and is practically doomed to failure," the statement said.

The statement referred to the SNSC's reaction to Washington's decision and designation of the CENTCOM as a terrorist group, and said the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces would consider the US Army forces under the CENTCOM command as terrorists and "will not spare any efforts to support the IRGC's anti-terrorism measures in the fight against the CENTCOM terrorist group".

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