Tehran on Wednesday condemned the U.S. House of Representatives for putting Iran's elite Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on the list of terrorist organizations.
"Putting armed forces of the UN member countries on the list of terrorist groups is a strange and unprecedented act which lacks any value or credit," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said in a statement.
Such "uncalculated and illegally baseless" decisions will not help in restoration of peace and security worldwide, Hosseini said.
Instead, the move will prepare conditions under which any country allows itself to defy international regulations and put the legal and official institutions of other countries on the list of terrorist groups under false charges, he said.
The spokesman said "those who are after raising charges against the IRGC are in fact putting themselves in front of the 70 million Iranian population."
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday to tighten sanctions on Iran and called on the U.S. government to brand Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.
The bill, passed by 397 votes to 16, was proposed by Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
It aimed at blocking foreign investment in Iran by sanctioning foreign companies with U.S. subsidiaries which invest in Iran, particularly in the oil and gas sectors.
It also prohibits U.S. civilian nuclear cooperation with nations that support Iran's nuclear program and calls on the U.S. government to urge foreign states and banks to divest from Iranian interests.
Iran has been under U.S. sanctions as U.S. laws impose sanctions on any foreign company that invests 20 million dollars or more in Iran's energy industry.
Washington has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran has denied the U.S. charges and insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Source: Xinhua
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