After its deadly crackdown on mass protests, European Union foreign ministers are expected to agree on plans to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, according to the EU’s foreign policy chief.
Speaking ahead of the ministers’ meeting in Brussels, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said “if you act as a terrorist, you should also be treated as terrorists.” The move would place the IRGC on the same level as jihadist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
The decision follows reports that thousands of people were killed during protests in Iran. Iranian authorities acknowledge that thousands were killed during the protests, giving a toll of over 3,000 people, but say the majority were members of the security forces or bystanders killed by “rioters.” Rights groups dispute the official figures, arguing that the death toll is far higher and that protesters were directly targeted by security forces, including the Revolutionary Guards.
The EU is expected to approve additional sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes on Iranian officials and state entities linked to the brutal repression. Designating the IRGC as a terrorist organisation would carry significant legal consequences. It would trigger asset freezes, criminal liability for providing support, and extensive compliance obligations for European companies and financial institutions. Applying the EU’s terrorist designation framework to a key part of a sovereign state’s military would be unprecedented.
