The European Union (EU) has agreed to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization following Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protests that has pushed the country to the brink and led to the deaths of thousands of civilians. Track updates on Iran-US tensions
File photo of IRGC. (AFP)The EU’s top diplomat, Kaza Callas, confirmed the decision during a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels as it imposed other sanctions on Iran, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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What is IRGC?Established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the IRGC is a branch of Iran’s military and operates alongside the regular army while playing a central role in Iran’s defense operations. According to the Counter Terrorism Guide the IRGC has ground, naval and air forces and an internal security militia (Basij) and an external operations force, the IRGC-Qods Force.
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The force reports directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and has about 190,000 active personnel, according to Al Jazeera. The IRGC oversees Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs and supports proxy groups across the Middle East.
Although the group is based in Iran, the IRGC has conducted operations in Iraq and Syria. In 2019, the United States designated it a terrorist organization and accused it of supporting terrorist activities.
Iran responded to EU actionIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the EU of ‘fanning the flames’ in response to the EU’s move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. “Several countries are currently trying to avoid the outbreak of all-out war in our region. Instead, Europe is preoccupied with conflagrations,” he wrote in X.
“After following the ‘snapback’ at the behest of the United States, it is now making another major strategic mistake by designating our national military as an alleged ‘terrorist organization,'” Araghchi said.
The EU was divided on the issue of designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization, with some members in favor of it, while others tried to be more cautious, fearing that it could hamper communications with the Iranian government and endanger European citizens inside the country.
However, a brutal crackdown on civilians protesting economic hardship and calling for the removal of clerical rule increased the chorus for action. A brutal crackdown on nationwide protest movements earlier this month, killing tens of thousands, fueled the move.