Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement Advertisement"The intolerable repression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot as he announced late on Wednesday that Paris would back the terror designation in a hardening of French policy. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementThe IRGC also serves as Tehran's link to its regional allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and pro-Iran militias in Iraq. Their annual military budget is estimated at around $6-9 billion, or 40 percent of Iran's official military budget, according to data collated by Khalfa. These losses revealed Israel's deep intelligence penetration of the Islamic republic, including within the IRGC. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement Advertisement"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dear Iran have their finger on the trigger, more prepared than ever, ready to carry out the orders and measures of the supreme commander-in-chief -- a leader dearer than their own lives," he said, referring to Khamenei.