EU Lists Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as Terrorists

The European Union agreed Thursday to list Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests, the bloc’s top diplomat said, in a largely symbolic move that adds to international pressures on the Islamic Republic.

EU Designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as Terrorist Organization

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said foreign ministers in the 27-nation bloc unanimously agreed on the designation, which she said will put the regime “on the same footing” with al-Qaida, Hamas and the Islamic State group.

“Those who operate through terror must be treated as terrorists,” Kallas said.

Meanwhile, Iran faces the threat of military action from the U.S. in response to the killing of peaceful demonstrators and over possible mass executions. The American military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Mideast, though it remains unclear whether the U.S. will use force.

Activists say the crackdown has killed at least 6,443 people. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” Kallas said.

Iran has warned it could launch a preemptive strike or broadly target the Mideast, including American military bases in the region and Israel. The country also issued a warning that it planned to run a drill next week that would include live firing in the Strait of Hormuz, potentially disrupting traffic through the vital waterway.

Other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, have already designated the Guard as a terrorist organization.

Designation Called a ‘Symbolic Act’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the designation as a “PR stunt” and said Europe would be affected if energy prices surge as a result of sanctions. “Several countries are presently attempting to avert the eruption of all-out war in our region. None of them are European,” he wrote on X.

France originally objected to listing the Revolutionary Guard over fears it would endanger French citizens detained in Iran, as well as diplomatic missions, but reversed course. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France supports more sanctions on Iran and the listing “because there can be no impunity for the crimes committed.”

Edouard Gergondet, a lawyer focused on sanctions with the firm Mayer Brown, said the Revolutionary Guard will be notified of the listing and given the opportunity to comment before the measure is formally adopted.

Kristina Kausch, a deputy director at the German Marshall Fund, said the listing is “a symbolic act” showing that for the EU “the dialogue path hasn’t led anywhere, and now it’s about isolation and containment as a priority.” She added that the designation of a state military arm as a terrorist organization is “one step short of cutting diplomatic ties.”

The EU also sanctioned 15 top officials and six organizations in Iran, including those involved in monitoring online content, as the country remains gripped by a three-week internet blackout. The sanctions mean affected officials and organizations will have their assets frozen and their travel to Europe banned.

The Revolutionary Guard holds vast business interests across Iran, and sanctions could allow its assets in Europe to be seized. Iran already struggles under multiple international sanctions from countries including the U.S. and Britain.

Iran’s rial currency fell to a record low of 1.6 million to $1 on Thursday. Economic woes sparked the protests, which broadened into a challenge to the theocracy before the crackdown.

Guard’s Origins and Role

The Guard emerged from Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution as a force meant to protect its Shiite cleric-overseen government and was later enshrined in its constitution. It operated in parallel with the country’s regular armed forces, growing in prominence and power during the war with Iraq in the 1980s.

The Guard’s Basij force likely played a key role in putting down the demonstrations, which began in earnest Jan. 8 when authorities cut off the internet and international telephone calls. Videos show men likely belonging to its forces shooting and beating protesters.

Iranian men reaching the age of 18 are required to do up to two years of military service, and many are conscripted into the Guard.

Strait of Hormuz Drill Planned

A notice to mariners sent Thursday warned that Iran planned to conduct “naval shooting” in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and Monday. Two Pakistani security officials confirmed the warning had been sent.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the drill. The hard-line Keyhan newspaper raised the specter of Tehran attempting to close the strait by force, warning that Iran and its allies have “their finger on a trigger that, at the first enemy mistake, will sever the world’s energy artery.”

Elsewhere, Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi again called for a constitutional referendum to change the country’s government.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that the violence in Iran has killed at least 6,443 people in recent weeks, including at least 6,058 protesters, 214 government-affiliated forces, 117 children and 54 civilians who were not demonstrating. More than 47,208 have been arrested, it added.

Iran’s government put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces and labeling the rest “terrorists.”