Iran defends Guards in show of unity

BEIRUT: Iran’s president gave a fullthroated 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 US President Donald Trump.

Trump is expected to “decertify” Iran’s nuclear deal with global powers this week and 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 that the Guards are a military entity. The Revolutionary Guards are not a military entity. They’re in the heart of the people. The Revolutionary Guards, in all the days of danger, have defended our national interests,” he said.

“We’re one society. We’re Iran. There are no differences between different factions in confronting the plots of our enemies,” he added.

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

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

In recent days, however, the threat of new action 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, those who oppose the nuclear deal and those who support it are side by side. We all have one voice,” Rouhani said.

Newspapers on Tuesday ran pictures of the urbane, US-educated Foreign Minister Javad Zarif laughing and hugging the commander of the guards, Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari.

Zarif brief lawmakers on Wednesday about the expected US action and about Iran’s plans for a response, according to members of parliament quoted in state media.