‘We will respond robustly wherever in the world our interests come under aggression’ Its leader describes Yemen’s Houthi militia as Tehran’s ‘new children’ US designated Quds Force a terrorist organization in 2007 LONDON: Iran’s Quds Force has vowed to continue “leading” militias across the Middle East. Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, who heads the elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the Quds Force would back any anti-US and anti-Israel movement in the world. “The US and the Zionists should know that this is our definite path,” he told supporters, including some of the IRGC’s most senior commanders. “The Islamic revolution of Iran knows how to guide young, motivated Muslims to defend themselves,” he said. “Our hands are not tied, and we will respond robustly wherever in the world our interests come under aggression.” Commending the missile-making efforts of Yemen’s Houthi militia, which he described as Tehran’s “new children,” Ghaani said all militias would “undoubtedly” enjoy similar Iranian support. Having designated the Quds Force as a terrorist organization in 2007, the US took this further in 2019, prescribing the IRGC in its entirety, before assassinating Ghaani’s predecessor Qassem Soleimani in Iraq a year later. Tehran has refused to shift on its nuclear program as long as the terrorist designation remains in place.