EU Blacklists Iran’s IRGC As Terror Group After Deadly Crackdown On Protesters

The European Union has formally designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, citing Tehran’s lethal suppression of mass protests in recent weeks.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc’s foreign ministers took what she called a “decisive step,” stressing that “repression cannot go unanswered.”

Speaking ahead of the decision, Kallas said the move places the IRGC – a powerful military, economic, and political pillar of the Iranian regime – in the same category as jihadist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Human rights organizations estimate that thousands of demonstrators were killed by Iranian security forces, including the IRGC, during weeks of unrest in December and January.

Addressing reporters in Brussels on Thursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the crackdown as “the most violent repression in Iran’s modern history,” adding that there could be “no impunity for the crimes committed.”

France had previously been viewed as reluctant to support blacklisting the IRGC, amid concerns that such a move could sever remaining diplomatic ties with Tehran.

That position shifted on Wednesday, when Paris openly backed an Italian-led push to add the IRGC to the EU’s terror list.

“Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” Kallas said in a brief statement on social media.

Kallas added that she anticipated diplomatic engagement with Iran would continue, even after the IRGC’s designation as a terrorist organization.

Groups placed on the EU’s terror list face sweeping sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, aimed at dismantling their financial and logistical support networks.

Alongside the designation, the EU imposed additional sanctions on six entities and 15 Iranian individuals, among them Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad, and Judge Iman Afshari.

“They were all involved in the violent repression of peaceful protests and the arbitrary arrest of political activists and human rights defenders,” the EU said in a statement.

Australia, Canada, and the United States have already classified the IRGC as a terrorist group, though the organization has not been formally proscribed in the United Kingdom.

On Wednesday, UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy condemned Iran’s “brutal oppression of peaceful protesters,” but reiterated longstanding government policy “not to comment on whether a specific organisation is being considered for proscription.”

The EU’s announcement comes amid escalating tensions with Washington, after U.S. President Donald Trump said a “massive Armada” was moving rapidly toward Iran “with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose.”

Trump said the fleet, led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, was intended as a warning, adding that “time was running out” for Iran to negotiate over its nuclear program and urging Tehran to “come to the table.”

He warned that failure to reach a deal would trigger an attack “far worse” than U.S. strikes carried out against Iran last year.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded that the country’s armed forces were ready “with their fingers on the trigger” to “immediately and powerfully respond” to any aggression.

Iran’s army chief, Amir Hatami, also threatened a “crushing response” to any U.S. attack, saying multiple military units had received 1,000 new drones, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Araghchi is scheduled to visit Turkey on Friday, where his counterpart, Hakan Fidan, said: “Turkey is ready to contribute to resolving the current tensions through dialogue.”

Trump’s latest warning followed his pledge that Washington would intervene on behalf of those targeted in Iran’s violent crackdown earlier this month.

A sweeping internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities has complicated efforts to independently verify the scope of the violence.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of more than 6,301 people, including 5,925 protesters, while the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said the final toll could exceed 25,000.

Iranian officials, by contrast, claim more than 3,100 people were killed, asserting that most were security personnel or bystanders attacked by what they described as “rioters.”

International media outlets are barred from operating inside Iran, though videos showing security forces firing live ammunition into crowds have been independently verified by journalists.