France eliminated a critical barrier to European consensus on Wednesday when Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot declared Paris now backs terrorist classification for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, dpa reported. Barrot's evening statement arrives 24 hours before EU foreign ministers assemble in Brussels to consider expanded sanctions against Tehran for its massacre of demonstrators.
In his X post, Barrot stated France endorses adding the IRGC to the European Union's terrorism roster. The minister justified the shift by referencing the "unbearable oppression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people" and declaring that such brutality demands consequences. "Their incredible courage in the face of the violence that has been blindly unleashed upon them must not be in vain," Barrot wrote.
According to reports emerging from Iran, the Revolutionary Guard is in charge of orchestrating the ruthless suppression of protests sweeping Iran, with casualty estimates surpassing 20,000 killed since the uprising erupted in late December.
While terrorist designation provides mainly symbolic impact – the IRGC already endures EU sanctions for human rights abuses – the classification carries political significance. Securing the terrorist label requires unanimous approval by all 27 member states, a requirement that stalled the initiative for years as France, Spain, and Italy maintained opposition. However, both Italy and Spain recently indicated they would support the designation.
Ministers gathering in Brussels on Thursday will likely authorize additional sanctions against Iranian entities connected to both the protest killings and Tehran's military partnership with Moscow in Ukraine. The sanctions package targets approximately 30 actors.
