Iranian official backs labelling U.S. army, CIA as terrorists

Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis  

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini addresses a press conference in Teheran in this file photo. Iranian lawmakers on Saturday branded the U.S. troops and the Central Intelligence Agency as terrorist groups. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

    "Terrorist is a proper label for the military and security forces of the United States," Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters at his weekly press conference.

    When asked about the recent approval of the U.S. House of Representative which put the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)on the list of terrorist organizations, Hosseini said "placing the armed forces of the UN member states on the list of terrorist groups is unprecedented."

    Iranian lawmakers on Saturday branded the U.S. troops and the CIA as terrorist groups, apparently a sharp reaction tit-for-tat over the decisions of their U.S. counterparts.

    More than 200 Iranian MPs said in a statement that "the U.S. army and the CIA themselves are terrorists since they support terrorism."

    "They support Israel's state terrorism in its crackdown on Palestinian and Lebanese people, trained al-Qaida and Taliban, and established secret prisons in Europe, torture prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib," the MPs said.

    They also demanded the United Nations to intervene in the "global problem of U.S. prisons in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and secret jails in other countries."

    The statement was released just three days after the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives called on the U.S. State Department to brand Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.

    Washington has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran denied the U.S. charges and insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Iranian lawmakers label U.S. troops and CIA as "terrorist"

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L Front) makes his way as he arrives back at the Mehrabad airport in Tehran, Iran, late Friday, Sept. 28, 2007, (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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    TEHRAN, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iranian lawmakers on Saturday branded the U.S. troops and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as terrorist groups, according to a statement released by the Iranian state media.

    The statement said that more than 200 Iranian parliament members (MPs) labeled the U.S. army and the CIA as terrorists since they support terrorism. It is apparently a sharp reaction tit for tat over the decisions of their U.S. counterparts calling for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a "foreign terrorist organization."
Iran condemns U.S. for placing Revolutionary Guards on terrorist list
    TEHRAN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Tehran on Wednesday condemned the U.S. House of Representatives for putting Iran's elite Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on the list of terrorist organizations.

    "Putting armed forces of the UN member countries on the list of terrorist groups is a strange and unprecedented act which lacks any value or credit," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said in a statement.