Iran president defends Guards in Trump reply

Iran’s moderate president gave a full-throated defense of his one-time rivals in the Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday, as the country’s pragmatist and hard-line factions rallied together in the face of threats from Donald Trump.

The US president is expected to “decertify” Iran’s nuclear deal with global powers this week and to add its Revolutionary Guards military force to Washington’s blacklist of terrorist groups under a strategy to increase pressure on Tehran.

The threat of US action has united the two main factions of Iran’s leadership, with the pragmatists led by President Hassan Rouhani who seek greater openness to the West demonstrating their support for the hard-line Guards. During a cabinet meeting shown on state television on Wednesday, Rouhani said US action against the Guards would be a “mistake beyond mistakes.”

“They think the Guards are a military entity. They are not a military entity. They’re in the heart of the people. The Revolutionary Guards have defended our national interests ... There are no differences between different factions in confronting the plots of our enemies.”

Rouhani, the architect of Iran’s 2015 deal with global powers to curb its nuclear program in return for lifting international sanctions, won reelection in a landslide five months ago on a platform of greater openness to the world and reform at home.

During an unprecedented bitter campaign, he spoke out in public against the Gurard’s political influence, accusing them of backing his hard-line opponent to defend their economic interests.

In recent days, however, the new threat from Washington has prompted a public display of unity from the rival factions among Iran’s rulers.

“Today, the president of America has created conditions where Iran is more united than ever. Today, we all have one voice,” Rouhani said.