Saudis Calling Iran's Guards Terrorists to Distract from Reporter's Death - IRGC

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Saudi Arabia's move to blacklist the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization is a bid to deflect the attention of the international community away from the Khashoggi affair, Esmaeil Kosari, the deputy head of the IRGC's Sarallah Headquarters, said on Wednesday.

"Saudi Arabia is stuck in a quagmire from which it cannot get out easily, so they are looking for a escape forward by taking such actions… The Saudis are seeking to deflect public attention in the region and the world from the Jamal Khashoggi’s case, the Saudi dissident journalist who was murdered in their general consulate in Istanbul," Kosari said, as quoted by the Mehr News Agency.

READ MORE: Khashoggi's Possible Belongings Found in Car of Saudi Consulate — Reports

On Tuesday, Saudi Press Agency, the kingdom's official news outlet, reported that Bahrain had joined Saudi Arabia in adding the IRGC to their official list of terrorist organizations over the corps' support for Tehran's alleged subversive activities. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, an IRGC special forces unit, was among the names that appeared on the list.

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, known for his criticism of the kingdom's policies, had been working as a columnist for The Washington Post prior to his killing. The journalist was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Following more than two weeks of denials, Saudi Arabia admitted on Friday via state television that the journalist had been killed in a fight inside the consulate. Riyadh has arrested 18 people for their involvement in the incident, while at least five Saudi officials, including Saudi Deputy Intelligence Chief Ahmed Asiri, were dismissed in response to the Khashoggi affair.