US is ‘leader of world terrorism’, says Iran President Rowhani after Donald Trump calls Republican Guard ‘terrorists’

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei added that the ‘vice and deceit’ of US officials will ‘boomerang on them’ and Washington will ‘go down the drain’

Reading Time:2 minutes

Copies of the Iranian daily newspapers ‘Shargh’ with a picture of US President Donald Trump on its front page in Tehran on April 9, 2019. Photo: EPA

Published: 9:25pm, 9 Apr 2019Updated: 9:25pm, 9 Apr 2019

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on Tuesday accused the United States of being the real “leader of world terrorism”, hitting back after Washington blacklisted Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.

Tehran was quick to retaliate on Monday by declaring US troops “terrorists” following Washington’s move, which was welcomed by Iran’s regional arch-rivals Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani. Photo: Iranian Presidency/AFP

It was the first time Washington labelled part of a foreign government a terrorist group, meaning anyone who deals with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard could face prison in the US.

“Who are you to label revolutionary institutions as terrorists?” an angry Rowhani demanded in a speech broadcast live on television.

Rowhani hailed the Guards for fighting terrorism since their creation in 1979 and accused US forces of having always been involved with terrorist groups or acts of terrorism.

US is ‘leader of world terrorism’, says Iran President Rowhani after Donald Trump calls Republican Guard ‘terrorists’

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei added that the ‘vice and deceit’ of US officials will ‘boomerang on them’ and Washington will ‘go down the drain’

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei added that the ‘vice and deceit’ of US officials will ‘boomerang on them’ and Washington will ‘go down the drain’