Iran warns Argentina that labeling Quds Force as terrorists will elicit response

Iran warned Argentina that its decision over the weekend to label the Iranian military’s Quds Force unit a terrorist organization will “undoubtedly receive an appropriate response” from Tehran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called President Javier Milei’s decision “unacceptable from the point of view of international law and dangerous from a political point of view.” “Labeling part of a country’s official armed forces as terrorists is unacceptable,” Baghaei added at a press conference in Tehran. The Quds Force is an elite unit within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the main branch of the country’s armed forces.  Tasked with carrying out operations outside Iranian territory, the emergence of the Quds Force has been linked to the regime’s regional expansion and the need to intervene in other countries without directly compromising the Iranian military. The United States government celebrated Argentina’s decision. The Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs issued a short statement calling the Quds Force a “key arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps” that has “fueled violence across the Middle East and beyond while repressing its own people at home.” “This important step strengthens the global effort to counter Iranian-backed terrorism and support the Iranian people,” the statement added. The United States welcomes Argentina’s decision, under President Javier Milei’s leadership, to designate the Quds Force as a terrorist organization. As a key arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Quds Force has fueled violence across the Middle East and beyond… pic.twitter.com/DpemcuIo0t— U.S. State Dept – Near Eastern Affairs (@StateDept_NEA) January 17, 2026 Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also expressed his support, urging the rest of the world to “follow Argentina’s example.” Argentina declares Quds Force a “terrorist organization” Milei’s press team published a statement on Saturday announcing the decision, saying that the Quds specialize in “carrying out terrorist attacks in other countries.”  “The Argentine Republic was a victim of its operations in the 1990s,” the statement added, attributing the attacks against the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and against the Jewish community center AMIA in 1994 to the Quds Force. The comminiqué went on to say that Interpol has issued a red alert to capture Ahmad Vahidi, commander of the Quds Force between 1989 and 1998, for his alleged role in the AMIA attack.  “The Iranian regime has not only not collaborated with his trial but instead has promoted him, naming him current deputy commander to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,” the text explained.  The decision places the Iranian force on Argentina’s Public Registry of Persons and Entities Linked to Acts of Terrorism and Their Financing (RePET). This means that Quds Force members and allies could be subject to economic sanctions and be restricted in their ability to operate in Argentina.  The move also limits potential financial aid for the organization that could come from Argentina. Days ago, Argentina also declared the Lebanese, Egyptian, and Jordanian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization with links to other Islamic organizations, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.