'Without IRGC efforts, Daesh would have dominated Europe': Raeisi

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi hailed the role that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps played in the fight against terrorism in the region, noting that European countries would have been dominated by Daesh terrorists without IRGC's efforts.

"If it weren't for the actions of the IRGC and the zealous fighters of the Islamic Ummah against Daesh, Europe would have been dominated by the terror group by now," Raeisi said while addressing the second day of the Supreme Assembly of Commanders of the IRGC on Friday in Tehran.

"The peaceful life Europe enjoys today is a result of the efforts of the IRGC; however, it is unfortunate that they are assassinating the heroes who combat terrorism and labeling the IRGC, which leads the fight against terrorism, as terrorists," he said, adding that this raises important questions that international organizations must address.

The IRGC, also known as the “Sepah”, was established on April 22, 1979, by the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini as a paramilitary organization tasked with protecting the newborn Islamic Republic.

The force closely cooperates with the Iranian Army to counter foreign threats as manifested during the 8-year war imposed by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on Iran in the 1980s. The IRGC has made great sacrifices in the fight against terror outfits operating in the region.

Despite these efforts, the US designated the force as a so-called "foreign terrorist organization" in April 2019 under former president Donald Trump's administration – an unprecedented action against the military of a sovereign state.

A few months later, General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and their companions were assassinated in a US drone strike authorized by Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

Last month, the UK government decided against proscribing the IRGC but announced plans for a new regime of sanctions against Iran.

Describing the IRGC as the "blessed child" of the Islamic Revolution, Raeisi said that the force has had "important missions till now, the most important of which is protecting the Islamic Revolution."

Ayatollah Khamenei warns of enemies' plot to tarnish image of IRGC, Basij volunteer forces

Ayatollah Khamenei warns of enemies

Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi pointed to the enemies' failure in last year's violent riots in the country.

"Enemies believed that they could undermine the Islamic Revolution and our Islamic establishment through riots. However, little did they know that the sacred establishment of the Islamic Republic has turned into a mighty tree," he said.

Following their unsuccessful attempt against Iran, they conveyed messages acknowledging their wrong stances during the incidents, he added.

Foreign-backed riots broke out across Iran following the death of young Iranian woman Mahsa Amini.

Amini fainted at a police station in the capital Tehran and was pronounced dead three days later at the hospital. An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization concluded that Amini’s death was caused by illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.

Several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have used their spy and propaganda apparatuses to provoke the deadly riots, according to Iran’s intelligence community.

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