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Washington: Officials from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards have dismissed alleged plans by the US to designate the force as a terrorist organisation as "worthless".
The force, established during the 1979 Iranian revolution, has evolved into a powerful and influential organisation that is believed to have custody over most or all of Iran's chemical, biological and radiological weapons, Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says in a study to be published in late September.
The force has some 125,000 men, and has exported thousands of rockets to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and shipped arms to various Palestinian movements, including the Palestinian Authority.
The Bush administration appears to be moving toward designating the guard corps as a foreign terrorist organisation. That would enhance a tougher line toward Iran.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "We are confronting Iranian behaviour across a variety of different fronts, on a number of different, quote-unquote, 'battlefields,' if you will."
If confirmed, it would be the first time official armed units of a sovereign state have been included in the US list of banned terrorist groups.
In a statement published by Iran's Mehr news agency, the Revolutionary Guards condemned the plan as "worthless resolutions" issued "dauntlessly and under baseless pretexts... to damage this holy institution".
"Those who are enchanted by the material world fail to realise the depth of the spiritual power and iron determination of the devoted members of the IRGC, which have roots in the religious beliefs of the people, and will witness the definite victory of the children of Islam against global infidelity," the statement said.
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