“If you act like a terrorist, you should also be treated like a terrorist,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters heading to a ministerial meeting in Brussels.
She said the move puts the Revolutionary Guards on the same level as jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Although symbolic, the EU’s move will send a strong message of condemnation to Iran after thousands of people were reported killed during protests that rocked the country.
Bloc 27, meanwhile, also adopted a visa ban and asset freeze on 21 state entities and Iranian officials — including the interior minister, prosecutor general and IRGC regional commanders — over the crackdown.
Iranian authorities admit thousands of people have been killed during the protests, which have claimed more than 3,000 lives, but say most were members of the security forces or bystanders killed by “rioters”.
Human rights groups say the death toll is much higher, potentially in the tens of thousands, and note that security forces, including the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), have killed protesters with direct fire.
The IRGC is the ideological arm of Tehran’s military and was created after the 1979 revolution to protect the spiritual leadership. The Guards control or own companies across Iran’s economy, including major strategic sectors.
“The estimate is that diplomatic channels will remain open even after the Revolutionary Guards are listed,” Kallas said.
The EU action against the IRGC comes after France announced on Wednesday that it supports the move, following a similar move from Italy.
The move would follow a similar classification enacted by the United States, Canada and Australia.
Paris was widely seen as reluctant to act against the IRGC due to concerns about the impact on Europeans detained in the country and a desire to maintain open diplomatic relations.
“There can be no impunity for the crimes committed,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters upon arrival in Brussels.
“This decision is also France’s call to the Iranian authorities to release the prisoners thrown into the regime’s prisons by the thousands to end the executions that perpetuate the most violent repression in Iran’s modern history,” he said.
Barrot called on Tehran to end the internet blackout and “return to the Iranian people the ability to choose their own future”.
The EU has already imposed sanctions on several hundred Iranian officials and entities for repression against previous protest movements and for Tehran’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The IRGC as a whole and senior commanders are already subject to EU sanctions, meaning their addition to the terrorism blacklist is expected to have little practical impact on the organisation.
Leave a Reply