On Thursday, the European Union (EU) took steps to label the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist group, and Germany committed to making this decision legally enforceable at the earliest opportunity.
This action was accompanied by a sanctions package targeting Iranian officials and entities, occurring amid the brutal suppression of protests and mass fatalities that have engulfed the nation since December 28.
Tehran’s provision of military assistance to Russia was another component of these measures.
On Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her approval of the classification and the sanctions package.
“I welcome the political agreement on new sanctions against the murderous Iranian regime,” von der Leyen stated in an X post. “And on labeling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization—this was long overdue.”
“A regime that bloodily quashes its own citizens’ protests truly deserves the label ‘terrorist.’ Europe stands in solidarity with the people of Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul noted that the EU would act swiftly to put the classification into effect, describing it as a powerful political message that mirrored the extent of repression within Iran.
“The next phase will involve fast-tracking the process to make the listing legally binding,” Wadephul emphasized, adding that the EU stood “shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian people” in opposing repression.
Wadephul accused the IRGC and its affiliated forces of responding to protesters with extreme violence, committing human rights abuses, and playing a destabilizing role throughout the Middle East.
As of Thursday, a monitoring organization had recorded 6,373 confirmed deaths, with an extra 17,091 fatalities pending verification.
The group also pointed to persistent detentions, limited restoration of internet access, and ongoing economic and social repercussions, noting that arrests and security measures had entered what it termed a “post-crackdown phase.”
According to reports, EU foreign ministers also greenlit new human rights sanctions targeting Iranian “individuals and entities” connected to the suppression of protests.
Those facing sanctions include Iran’s interior minister, senior IRGC commanders, police chiefs, revolutionary court judges, and cyber officials engaged in censorship and surveillance.
Reuters noted that some of these individuals and entities will also be sanctioned for “providing support” to Russia.
In April 2019, the U.S. designated the IRGC a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Canada followed suit in June 2024, and Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have similarly labeled the IRGC a terrorist group.
Advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) hailed the EU’s move and urged swift implementation, calling on the U.K. to follow suit.
“UANI commends the EU for announcing its intention to designate the IRGC—the Islamic Republic’s ideological army—as a terrorist organization,” 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.”
In response 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 terrorists themselves could deny the IRGC’s record in the fight against terrorism,” he said in a post on X.