The rallies took place on Friday as people across the country marched, chanting slogans and holding placards in support of the IRGC.

IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

The demonstrations came after numerous expressions of support by the Iranian public and different political factions were made for the military organization.

Iran says the success of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in foiling enemy plots has enraged the U.S., Israel and their terrorist stooges.

Addressing worshipers at weekly Friday prayers, Tehran interim Friday prayers leader Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani denounced the U.S. measure.

On April 8, U.S. President Donald Trump blacklisted the IRGC, which helped the national armies of Iraq and Syria rid their countries of Daesh terrorists in late 2017.

Iran’s most senior military body vows to “spare no effort” in fighting the “terrorist” American forces operating in West Asia in support of the country’s IRGC, a day after Washington blacklisted the elite military force.

Following Trump’s declaration on Monday, Iran reciprocated by designating the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the portion of the US military responsible for protecting American security interests in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, as a terrorist organization.

Meanwhile many reformist figures condemned the Trump administration’s move unanimously, despite their political disagreements with the IRGC.

Union of Islamic Iran People Party, National Trust Party, and Neda Party criticized U.S. President Donald Trump in separate statements, and some figures also took a stand against Trump in their Twitter accounts.

The main theme of these statements and tweets was that the reformists’ difference with and criticisms of the IRGC and its performance are within the scope of internal disputes; however, when faced with the foreign enemy, all support the armed forces in order to counter what threatens the sovereignty of the country.

One of the first figures who condemned the move was Abdollah Ramezanzadeh. He is the former spokesman and secretary of the government of reformist president, Seyed Mohammad Khatami. Ramezanzadeh was arrested a few hours after the 2009 disputed presidential election. Shortly before his arrest, he released a speech posted on the opposition websites. He was sentenced to 6 years jail.