Iran’s decision to categorize US forces as terrorists following the airstrike that led to the death of a top Iranian military figure has sparked global interest. The Iranian parliament passed a bill on Tuesday January 7 to officially designate all US forces as “terrorists.” The bill extends this categorization to include employees of the Pentagon and affiliated organizations, agents, commanders, and those who were involved in the killing of Qasem Soleimani, who was a respected figure as the head of the Revolutionary Guards. Furthermore, the parliament stated that any form of assistance to these forces, such as military, intelligence, financial, technical, service, or logistical aid, would be considered as cooperation in a terrorist act.
In addition to this bill, Iranian lawmakers also voted to increase the budget of the Quds Force, a foreign operations branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards previously headed by Soleimani, by €200 million.
This decision comes in response to the US designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a “terrorist organization.” These actions and counter-actions underscore the heightened tensions between the two nations.