The European Union has listed Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, over a recent violent crackdown on nationwide protests that left thousands dead.
European Union foreign ministers on Thursday agreed to the move targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Human rights groups estimate that security forces have killed thousands of protesters during unrest in Iran in December and January. Demonstrations began on 28 December over rising living costs and quickly spread nationwide.
“Repression cannot go unanswered,” the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas posted on social media. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise.”
Kallas said that the designation would place the Revolutionary Guard on the same footing as groups such as al-Qaeda, Hamas and Daesh, the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.
“If you act as a terrorist, you should also be treated as a terrorist,” she said.
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Deadly crackdown
The protests were met with what witnesses described as a ferocious response. The scale of the violence only emerged after more than two weeks of an unprecedented nationwide internet blackout.
The EU also imposed sanctions on 15 Iranian officials, including senior commanders in the Revolutionary Guard, over their role in the repression.
Organisations placed on the EU terrorist list face measures including travel bans and asset freezes aimed at cutting off their support networks.
Iran had no immediate official reaction. In recent days, however, Tehran had criticised European countries as the move was being considered.
The Revolutionary Guard is Iran’s most powerful armed force. It was created after the 1979 revolution and plays a central role in the country’s security system.
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Diplomatic tensions
Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the crackdown as “the most violent repression in Iran’s modern history” and said there could be “no impunity for the crimes committed”.
France had previously been cautious about blacklisting the Revolutionary Guard over concerns it could sever remaining diplomatic contacts with Iran, but changed position on Wednesday to back a push led by Italy.
Kallas said she expected diplomatic channels with Tehran to remain open despite the decision.
The United States, Canada and Australia have already designated the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation.
The Islamic Republic also faces the threat of military action from US President Donald Trump in response to the killing of peaceful demonstrators. The US military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Middle East, although it remains unclear whether Washington will use force.
