MP Ahmad Naderi
An Iranian lawmaker claims Britain and France do not dare to designate IRGC as a terrorist group because they know their forces in the region will be attacked if they do so.
Ahmad Naderi, a member of the Presiding Committee of the parliament representing Tehran, made the threat in a tweet on Friday in reaction to the Swedish parliament voting in favor of designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Swedish parliament's decision to list the IRGC as a terrorist group is only “a show" that has no real value, he said, adding that "formerly colonialist countries like France and England, which are the leaders in Europe, do not have the courage to do this because they know that we will attack their forces in the region”.
Without further details, he added that plans to retaliate against Sweden for its recent designation on Wednesday still stands.
It followed the execution this week of Swedish-Iranian Habib Chaab (Asyud) which saw Sweden's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summon Iran's chargé d'affaires in protest of the execution, one of hundreds since the start of the year.
Iran's relations with Sweden have been strained since July when a Swedish court sentenced a former Iranian jailor, Hamid Nouri, to life imprisonment over executions of political prisoners in 1988.
The US has already designated the IRGC which for decades has conducted operations abroad including maritime hijackings, political assassinations and hostage taking. Other nations such as the UK are hesitant in hopes to resume dialogue on Iran's nuclear program.