By DPA
Tehran : Tehran has branded as illegal the alleged intention by the US government to formally apply the label of foreign terrorist organisation to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The government was reacting to reports in the Washington Post and New York Times Wednesday that US President George W. Bush’s administration is preparing to take the steps in order to disrupt financing for the elite military wing. Unnamed sources were cited in both papers.
Officials in Washington refused to confirm the reports but the State Department stressed that Washington will keep up diplomatic pressure on Tehran.
Washington has accused units within the Revolutionary Guard of aiding Shiite Muslim militias and other insurgent groups within Iraq, including smuggling specialised landmines used to target armoured vehicles carrying US troops.
An unnamed foreign ministry official in Tehran told ISNA news agency that if the reports were correct, then the move would contradict all legal standards and be regarded within the framework of propaganda and psychological war tactics by US against Iran.
The official further termed the Washington Post report itself as “lacking professional norms.”
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have risen amid a continuing confrontation over the Iranian nuclear programme, which the US alleges is aimed at building weapons.
No state military unit has been previously designated by the US as a terrorist organisation, although Iran has been named as a state supporter of terrorism.