The European Union announced on Thursday that it will formally designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, after the foreign ministers of all 27 member states reached a unanimous decision. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the move was intended to send an unequivocal message to Tehran, warning that repression would not go unanswered.
"Repression cannot go unanswered," Kallas said in a statement. "EU Foreign Ministers just took the decisive step of designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation."
Kallas described the decision as a clear red line against the Iranian regime, citing its violent suppression of civil protests in recent years. "Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise," she said.
The move now places Iran's Revolutionary Guards on a par with terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and aligns with similar designations already in place in the US, Canada and Australia. Alongside the announcement, the European Union imposed entry bans and asset freezes on 21 Iranian entities and senior officials, including the interior minister, the attorney general and regional commanders in the Revolutionary Guards. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that "anyone who acts like a terrorist should be treated as a terrorist."
The decision followed a shift in the positions of countries that had previously opposed the move, most notably France and Spain, allowing consensus among all EU members. The designation is expected to pave the way for sweeping sanctions, including asset freezes, travel bans within the EU and restrictions on any individual or entity linked to the Revolutionary Guards.
European diplomatic sources said the move was likely to lead to a significant deterioration in relations between the EU and Iran, and that Tehran was expected to seek ways to mitigate the fallout through diplomatic pressure. At the same time, EU member states are expected to begin implementing measures stemming from the designation in the near future.
