Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander in chief of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, issued a warning that if his forces are put on the list of terrorist groups by the U.S, they will retaliate against American forces in Western Asia.

Jafari described the decision by the United States to put IRGC on the terror list as “idiotic” and said that such acts will undermine “our national security.”

He announced that if the decision by the United States is executed, “we will undertake plans to counteract and retaliate according to the Islamic Republic policies. In that situation, the American army and security forces will not see the peace they enjoy today.”

Jafari refused to elaborate on IRGC’s possible methods of retaliation in case they are designated as a terrorist group.

American military officials have repeatedly said that their forces have faced Iranian IRGC forces in Iraq and Syria.

Brian Hook, the chairman of Iran Action Group announced last week that Iran “is responsible for 17 percent of the casualties of the American military in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.” 608 American soldiers were killed during that time.

Ayatollah Khomeini founded IRGC in 1980 as an ideological military body parallel to the army as he was purging the high-ranking officers in the army. Qods force, the international arm of the IRGC is already on the terror list.

As the commanders of the IRGC have clarified in the past, the IRGC’s responsibility is to the “Islamic Revolution” and not to “Iran”. The IRGC also has a massive influence on Iran’s politics and economy.