Rouhani Warns US, Iranian Army not a Threat to Region

President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday Iran’s armed forces did not pose a threat to regional countries, criticizing the US decision to blacklist the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.

“I want to tell the regional countries that the armed forces of Iran are not against you and your national interests. They stand against invaders… The roots of our problems are the Zionist regime and American imperialism,” Rouhani said according to Reuters during the parade to mark Army Day.

He also said that Tehran sought “regional security and stability”.

“The US is angry with every force which does not obey it, is not under its control and prevents it from reaching its goals,” Rouhani added.

The administration is upset with the IRGC’s role in supporting Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq and Houthis in Yemen, he continued.

Thousands of soldiers marched past Rouhani and top military commanders at the parade, while new Iranian-built fighter jets flew overhead. Iran also showed off missiles, submarines, armored vehicles, radars and its Russian-supplied S-300 defense system.

Head of the air force Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said: “The enemy knows our military power and I doubt they dare to make a stupid and adventurous move against us; But if they do, we will respond in the strongest way possible.”

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned in a letter to his counterparts around the world that Washington’s latest move in blacklisting the IRGC is meant to prepare the American public opinion for “a new adventure”.

Trump withdrew last year from the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers because he saw that Tehran had violated it by insisting on its malicious regional policy and on developing ballistic missiles. Shortly after, he reimposed biting sanctions against Iran.