Italy's foreign minister announced Monday that he will bring a proposal before the European Union's foreign ministers to impose personal sanctions on those responsible for violent repression in Iran, including a move to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the issue will be raised at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday, following a call by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar. Italy plans to put on the EU agenda both the formal designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and the imposition of individual sanctions on those responsible for the killings in the Islamic Republic.
Tajani wrote that the casualties suffered by Iran's civilian population during the protests require a clear response. He said that at Thursday's meeting in Brussels he would propose, in coordination with other partners, adding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the EU list of terrorist organizations and imposing personal sanctions on those responsible for what he described as criminal acts.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomed Tajani's statement, calling it an important declaration. He reiterated his call on the European Union to take what he described as a necessary and moral decision to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
