EU to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as terrorists; Germany warns of rapid action

The European Union (EU) moved Thursday to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization, and Germany pledged to make the decision legally binding as soon as possible.

The move also came alongside a new round of EU sanctions targeting Iranian officials and entities amid the violent crackdown on protests and mass killings that have swept across the country since Dec. 28.

Tehran’s military support for Russia was also included in the measures.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the designation and the sanctions package Thursday.

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“I welcome the political agreement on new sanctions against the murderous Iranian regime,” von der Leyen wrote in a post on X. “And on the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. This was long overdue.

“‘Terrorist’ is indeed how you call a regime that crushes its own people’s protests in blood. Europe stands with the people of Iran in their brave fight for freedom.”

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the EU would move quickly to implement the designation, calling it a strong political signal that reflected the scale of repression inside Iran.

“The next step will be the rapid implementation towards a legally binding listing,” Wadephul warned, adding that the EU stood “side by side with the Iranian people” against repression.

Wadephul accused the IRGC and its auxiliary forces of meeting protesters with extreme violence, carrying out executions and having a destabilizing role across the Middle East.

As of Thursday, the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported 6,373 confirmed fatalities, with an additional 17,091 deaths under review.

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The organization also cited continued communication restrictions, limited internet restoration and ongoing economic and social fallout, saying arrests and security pressure had entered what it described as a “post-crackdown phase.”

According to Reuters, EU foreign ministers also approved new human rights sanctions targeting Iranian “individuals and entities” linked to the suppression of protests.

Those sanctioned include Iran’s interior minister, senior IRGC commanders, police chiefs, judges from revolutionary courts and cyber officials involved in censorship and surveillance.

Some will also be sanctioned for “providing support” to Russia, Reuters noted.

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The U.S. designated the IRGC a Foreign Terrorist Organization in April 2019. Canada followed in June 2024. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have also designated the IRGC a terrorist group.

Advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) welcomed the EU’s move and urged swift implementation, calling on the U.K. to follow suit.

“UANI applauds the EU for announcing its intention to designate the IRGC, the Islamic Republic’s ideological army, as the terrorists that they are,” the group said in a statement.

“We now urge the United Kingdom to proscribe the IRGC, following the lead of the EU, the United States, Canada, and Australia. The IRGC must be denied the ability to operate with impunity abroad.”

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Reacting to the news, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, criticized the EU’s designation.

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is one of the strongest and most effective anti-terrorism forces in the world; only those who stand on the side of the terrorists themselves could deny the IRGC’s record in the fight against ISIS terrorism,” he said in a post on X.