Iran president defends Guards in show of unity anticipating Trump
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- Defying Trump, Iran says will boost missile capabilities
- U.S. weighs whether to stay in Iran nuclear deal
The U.S. president is expected to “decertify” Iran’s nuclear deal with global powers this week and add its Revolutionary Guards military force to Washington’s black list of terrorist groups under a strategy to increase pressure on Tehran.
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FILE PHOTO - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani listens during a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 23, 2014. REUTERS/Jewel Samad/Pool/File Photo |
The threat of U.S. action has united the two main factions of Iran’s leadership, with the pragmatists led by President Hassan Rouhani who seek greater openness to the West demonstrating their support for the hardline Guards.
During a cabinet meeting shown on state television on Wednesday, Rouhani said U.S. action against the Guards would be a “mistake beyond mistakes”.
“They think that the Guards are a military entity. The Revolutionary Guards are not a military entity. They’re in the heart of the people. The Revolutionary Guards, in all the days of danger, have defended our national interests,” he said.
“We’re one society. We’re Iran. There are no differences between different factions in confronting the plots of our enemies,” he added.
Rouhani, the architect of Iran’s 2015 deal with global powers to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions, won re-election in a landslide five months ago on a platform promising greater openness to the world and reform at home.
During an unprecedentedly bitter campaign, he repeatedly spoke out in public against the political influence of the Guards, accusing them of backing his hardline opponent to defend their economic interests.
In recent days, however, the threat of new action from Washington has prompted a public display of unity from the rival factions among Iran’s rulers.
“Today, the president of America has created conditions where Iran is more united than ever. Today, those who oppose the nuclear deal and those who support it are side by side. We all have one voice,” Rouhani said.
Newspapers on Tuesday ran pictures of the urbane, U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Javad Zarif laughing and hugging the commander of the guards, Major-General Mohammad Ali Jafari.
Zarif brief lawmakers on Wednesday about the expected U.S. action and about Iran’s plans for a response, according to members of parliament quoted in state media.
