EU to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as terrorist group

EU foreign ministers are set to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, after Tehran’s brutal repression of popular protests pushed Paris and other capitals to drop their opposition to the move.

Thousands of protesters have been killed by the theocratic regime’s forces in recent weeks as Tehran seeks to smother protests across the country, initially sparked by economic distress but now morphing into demands to overthrow the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The move, which needs unanimous support of the EU’s capitals and will be discussed at a meeting of foreign ministers on Thursday afternoon, comes as US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that a naval force heading to the region could strike Iranian targets.

The group is already listed as a terror organisation by the US, Australia and Canada.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat, said that she believed the bloc’s foreign ministers would agree to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terror organisation, after France said late on Wednesday it supported the move.

“I expect that we will list the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation,” Kallas said as she arrived at the ministerial meeting in Brussels. “This will put them on the same footing with al-Qaeda, Hamas, Daesh.”

“If you act as a terrorist, you should also be treated as a terrorist,” Kallas told reporters. “It is clear what we see: the death toll in the protests that were in Iran and the means that were taken by the regime are really severe. That is why we are also sending a clear message that if you are suppressing people, it has a price, and you will also be sanctioned for this.”

Members of the IRGC are subject to EU sanctions already, but listing the entire state military organisation would subject all individuals connected to the group to travel bans, asset freezes and completely sever their connections to the European financial system.

France had previously pushed back against such a move, warning that it could endanger European citizens in Iran, cut off diplomatic channels to Tehran and put European embassies there at risk, or spark reprisals against western entities.

But Paris shifted in favour on Wednesday evening, citing the brutal crackdown on protests in which the IRGC played an important role.

“The unbearable repression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered. The extraordinary courage they have shown in the face of the blind violence unleashed upon them cannot be in vain,” foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a statement announcing he would support the terror designation. “Together with our European partners, we will adopt sanctions . . . against those responsible for these abuses.”

Madrid and a handful of smaller member states that had also urged caution on the listing pivoted with France.

The UK was not expected to follow the EU in proscribing the IRGC, as this could cause the British embassy in Tehran to be shut, said several experts.

One expert at a London-based think-tank said the US considered the British embassy vital for intelligence collection and wanted it to remain open.

Current and former British officials listed other considerations too. “There is scepticism about using counterterrorism powers on what is a state threat,” said Paddy McGuinness, formerly the UK deputy national security adviser for intelligence.

“Any arrangement with Iran, say if Khamenei dies or there is decapitation or there is a fracture or loss of control, will need to include the IRGC. So making them a terrorist group now would merely complicate matters,” he said.