Iran Ratifies Retaliatory Bill To Designate US CENTCOM As Terrorist Organization - Reports

The Iranian parliament ratified a bill on Tuesday that designates the US Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization in retaliation to the United States placing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the same designation last week, local media reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2019) The Iranian parliament ratified a bill on Tuesday that designates the US Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization in retaliation to the United States placing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the same designation last week, local media reported.

On April 8, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States was designating Iran's IRGC as a terrorist organization. In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry proposed that the country's Supreme National Security Council include CENTCOM in its list of terrorist organizations.

According to the Iranian Mehr news agency, 204 out of the 256 parliament members present voted in favor of the bill.

The bill also designates any aid � financial, technological and information � provided to CENTCOM as a terrorist measure.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated since Washington withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement last year and reinstated sanctions against Tehran. The nuclear agreement envisaged gradual lifting of sanctions in return for Iran keeping its nuclear program peaceful.