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Iran Threatens to Hit US Bases as Rouhani Brother’s Health Deteriorates | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard troops march, during a military parade in Tehran, Iran, on Friday, September 21, 2012. (AP)


London – Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Baqeri threatened on Monday to target US bases if the US administration places the Revolutionary Guards on its list of terrorist organizations.

At a gathering of military commanders held in the city of Mashhad in the northeast of Iran, Baqeri said: “Labeling the Revolutionary Guards the same as terrorist groups and applying similar sanctions to them is a big risk for America and its bases and forces deployed in the region.”

In mid-June the US Senate voted for a new legislation that binds the US administration to enforce new penalties on Iran, including imposing sanctions on the country’s ballistic-missile program and designating the Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization.

The legislation is waiting for the approval of the House of Representatives and the signature of President Donald Trump before becoming a law.

Referring to the recent US legislation, Baqeri said American officials should speak a little more “wisely, thoughtfully and maturely” about a powerful country like Iran, adding that his country’s missile program was defensive and would never be up for negotiation.

Separately, several Iranian websites reported on Monday that Hossein Fereidoun, the brother of President Hassan Rouhani was transferred to hospital on his second day of detention.

Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeie announced on Sunday that Rouhani’s brother was arrested on financial crime charges at a time when the president is scheduled to take the oath of office in Majlis and present his new government lineup at the start of next month.

The reports said Fereidoun’s health became critical when he appeared in court on Monday during an interrogation session.

During the past four years, Fereidoun was the main target of Rouhani’s opponents and was used as a means to exert pressure on the Iranian president.