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German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany strongly supports listing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under EU terrorism sanctions and expressed confidence the bloc would reach a decision on Thursday.
“The federal government has strongly advocated for the Revolutionary Guard Corps to be listed,” Wadephul told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “I am very confident that we will reach a joint conclusion on this matter today.”
He said the move was needed in response to Iran’s treatment of its citizens. “The way people have been beaten, tortured, thrown into prison and even shot or hanged is so dramatic that there must be a clear response from the European Union,” he said.
Wadephul also said Germany wanted an agreement with Iran on its missile program and nuclear activities. “Nobody needs another conflict,” he said, adding that Tehran must understand it could not continue as before and urging use of what he called a remaining window for a deal.
Finland said it supports adding Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said.
“Iran’s authorities are responsible for killing thousands of their own citizens and brutally repressing society,” Valtonen wrote in a post on X. “They do not deserve sympathy, but must be held accountable for their actions.”
Valtonen said Finland would inform EU partners of its position at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, adding that Iranians had shown courage and determination in demanding a free and prosperous future.
Senior defense and intelligence officials from Israel and Saudi Arabia are visiting Washington this week for talks on Iran as US President Donald Trump weighed possible military strikes, Axios reported.
Axios said Israel’s military intelligence chief held meetings with senior officials at the Pentagon, the CIA and the White House on Tuesday and Wednesday to share intelligence on possible targets inside Iran.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman was expected to hold meetings focused on Iran at the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House on Thursday and Friday, Axios reported, adding that Saudi Arabia was concerned about a wider regional war and was trying to help push diplomacy.
European Union foreign ministers approved new sanctions on Iran on Thursday, targeting individuals and entities linked to a violent crackdown on protesters and Tehran’s support for Russia, Reuters reported.
The ministers are also expected to reach a political agreement to add Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the EU list of terrorist organizations, a move that would mark a symbolic shift in the bloc’s approach to Iran’s leadership.
Iran’s army said it has added 1,000 drones to its four service branches on Thursday, as tensions rise in the region.
The drones were built by army specialists with support from the defense ministry and were designed based on what Iran described as new threats and lessons from the 12-day war in June, Revolutionary Guards-linked media, Tasnim, reported.
They include strike, attack, surveillance and electronic warfare drones intended to hit fixed and mobile targets on land, at sea and in the air.
Army commander Major General Amir Hatami said the force was focused on maintaining and upgrading its capabilities to respond quickly to any attack. “Preserving and enhancing strategic advantages for rapid combat and a crushing response to any aggression is always on the army’s agenda,” he said.
No images of the drones were released due to what the army said were security considerations.
