Why does the U.S. hate IRGC

IMAM KHAMENEI

Farsi_sub_ENGLISH

‘Zionist Regime Worried About Own Survival’

TEHRAN – Iran’s highest-ranking military commander has highlighted the leading role that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps plays in foiling hostile plots, saying the IRGC has made the Zionist regime worry about its survival instead of pursuing the dream of Nile to Euphrates dominance.

In comments at a ceremony in Tehran, held to inaugurate Major General Hossein Salami as the new commander of the IRGC, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri hailed the IRGC for stabilizing and promoting the Islamic Republic’s deterrent power at a time of heightened US threats.

Highlighting the IRGC’s "stellar record”, the commander said the IRGC has enhanced its capabilities, shaped the axis of resistance, and forced the Israeli regime to worry about its survival rather than pursuing the dream of gaining control over the lands from the Nile to the Euphrates.

"It is natural for the U.S. to be angry at the IRGC and vent its utmost anger by declaring the IRGC terrorist,” the commander said, adding that the U.S. itself is the financial and arms sponsor of terrorists.

Downplaying Washington’s plan to drive the export of Iranian oil down to zero, Major General Baqeri said Iran has gained such power over the past forty years that "it can stand on its own feet with any amount of oil sales.”

He went on to say that the new IRGC commander’s tenure is simultaneous with the US government’s anger and a new round of plots and sanctions against Tehran, stressing that Major General Salami’s term will definitely mark the defeat of enemies.

The incoming IRGC chief also took the podium to highlight Iran’s growing power, saying the IRGC Quds Force has managed to end the US hegemony in eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea.

On Monday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei appointed General Salami as the new commander of the IRGC after promoting him to the rank of major general.

Chairman of Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri  

Iraq Says US Forces Will Never Leave Middle East

By

 IFP Editorial Staff

A US armored vehicle at the front line between the US-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council and the Turkish-backed fighters, in Manbij, Syria, on April 4, 2018 / Photo by AP

An Iraqi lawmaker has described Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US forces from Syria as Washington’s new tactic, saying it is an illusion to think the decision would eventually result in the pullout of all US troops from the region.

The remarks were made by Mahmoud al-Rubaie, a member of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq Party, in an interview with Dijlah TV satellite network.

He also said American troops failed to do anything when ISIS terrorists entered Iraq and occupied large parts of the country.

Rubaie underlined that the resistance front thwarted the United States’ plan to remain in Iraq after occupying the country.

“The US seeks to create failed and tension-stricken countries which need the US presence in order to survive,” the party member said.

“The Americans only liberated two cities of Mosul and Ramadi after destroying them,” he noted.

“The US troopers targeted Iraqi forces and Popular Mobilization Forces,” said Rubaie, adding that the ISIS terrorist group was created by the United States in order to implement its plans.

Rubaie referred to the allegations about Iran’s military presence in Iraq, saying that Iranian forces are not present in Iraq, but that American forces are present in the country and no one knows the exact number of the troops and their bases.

He further praised the advisory assistance of IRGC Quds Force and its commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, and said the top general travels to Iraq through official channels.

Rubaie said Iranian military advisors are present in Iraq with Baghdad’s knowledge and at the Iraqi government’s request, and General Soleimani travels to Iraq officially and through the airport, and visits different areas.

He also touched upon the toppling of the rule of former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein in 2003, and said it was the Iraqi people who ousted Saddam Hussein with their uprising, and Iran was not involved in Iraq’s developments, whatsoever.

Majid Shankali, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, also weighed in on the presence of American and Iranian troops in Iraq in a separate interview with Dijlah TV.

Shankali said some voluntary Iranian individuals are members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, but underlined that no official Iranian military troops are present in Iraq unlike US forces who are present in Iraq without the agreement of the government.

He said the phone talk between Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revolved around the maintenance of security and stability in Iraq as well as US troops’ pullout from Syria.

Abdul-Mahdi is said to have hailed Pompeo in that phone conversation for renewing the waiver on a ban on electricity and natural gas imports from Iran.

He also pointed to the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, and said, “Given the presence of Russian and Iranian troops and Turkey’s threats to Kurds, US troops’ withdrawal from Syria will not be an easy issue,” he added.

The remarks by the two Iraqi party members come as opponents of Iran have always accused the country of having a military presence in the region and interfering in other countries’ affairs.