WANA (Jan 29) – The European Union has taken a politically charged and controversial step by placing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—an official branch of the country’s armed forces—on its so-called terrorist organizations list, a move Tehran describes as illegal and inconsistent with the EU’s own legal procedures.

 

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced the decision on Thursday in a post on X, stating that EU foreign ministers had taken a “decisive step” by designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization during a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

 

The decision comes despite clear EU regulations requiring a judicial ruling by a court in one of the member states before an entity can be formally designated as a terrorist organization. In this case, no such court ruling has been issued, prompting serious legal questions about the legitimacy of the move.

 

Critics argue that the European Union acted hastily, prioritizing political considerations over legal standards, and aligning itself with the policies of the United States and Israel without fully assessing the legal and security consequences. They warn that the decision could have implications extending well beyond bilateral relations between Iran and Europe.

 

Iran has previously warned against what it describes as Europe’s increasingly hostile actions, particularly those targeting the IRGC. Iranian officials emphasize that the IRGC is an official component of the country’s armed forces and argue that any action against it constitutes a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.

 

In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated that “labeling an official segment of a country’s armed forces as terrorist is not only contrary to the fundamental principles of international law, but also politically and logically reckless, with potentially serious consequences.”

 

He added that assigning such a label to an institution that emerged from Iranian society and is responsible for safeguarding national security and the security of the Persian Gulf is irrational, stressing that Iran reserves the right to respond reciprocally to the dec ision.