Trump Administration has designated Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation.

It is the first time in history that US has labelled another nation’s military as a terrorist organisation.IRGC is the Iran’s biggest national security organization.

The White House said the IRGC was Iran’s primary means of “implementing its global terrorist campaign”.

Washington-Tehran tensions have risen since Mr Trump withdrew the US from the international Iran nuclear pact.

Various IRGC and associated entities have already been facing US sanctions in connection with alleged proliferation activities, support for terrorism and human rights abuses.

Mr Trump’s statement on Monday said: “This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, recognises the reality that Iran is not only a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft.”

The president added that the move was meant to “significantly expand the scope and scale” of pressure on Iran.

“If you are doing business with the IRGC, you will be bankrolling terrorism,” Mr Trump said.

The measure will take effect in one week’s time, according to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Mr Pompeo said the US will continue to sanction and pressure Iran to “behave like a normal nation” and urged US allies to take similar action.

“The leaders of Iran are not revolutionaries and people deserve better,” Mr Pompeo said. “They are opportunists.”

In a later tweet, he added: “We must help the people of Iran get back their freedom.”National Security Adviser John Bolton said labelling the IRGC as terrorists was “the rightful designation”. Labelling the IRGC as a terrorist organisation will allow the US to impose further sanctions – particularly affecting the business sector, given the IRGC’s involvement in Iran’s economy.

Mr Pompeo and Mr Bolton were reportedly in favour of the move, but some Pentagon officials, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Joe Dunford, have expressed concerns, according to Wall Street Journal ..

Military officials cautioned that the designation could incite violence against US forces in the Middle East without severely impacting Iran’s economy.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had also reportedly opposed the move.

After reports of the Trump administration plan surfaced last week, Iran had warned it would retaliate in kind.

“We will answer any action taken against this force with a reciprocal action,” a statement issued by 255 out of the 290 Iranian MPs said, according to the Islamic Republic’s state-run IRNA news agency.