Tehran calls IRGC a ‘counterterror’ force as EU agrees on designation

Britain’s government is preparing legislation that would allow ministers to ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), The Times reported on Thursday, as pressure grows to respond to the group’s role in suppressing anti-government protests.

According to the report, the proposed law would enable the proscription of hostile state-linked organizations, including the IRGC.

The Times said the initiative follows growing international pressure on Iran, including recent European Union action against the IRGC, which has drawn an angry response from Tehran.

"Britain’s Home Office confirmed it is preparing legislation but said the bill would not be fast-tracked, despite the IRGC’s role in the recent crackdown on protesters in Iran," the report said.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned what it called the European Union’s “illegal and unjustified” move to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.

In a statement, the ministry said designating a country’s official military institution as a “terrorist” organization is a dangerous move. It added that European concern about human rights in Iran was a “blatant lie and hypocrisy.”

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola welcomed a decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization on Thursday, calling it a significant step by Europe in confronting Tehran’s policies.

"Europe stands up to be counted. Designating the Iranian regime's oppressive IRGC as a terrorist organization is the right decision, that even a few weeks ago so many said was impossible," Metsola posted on X.

"Proud of the European Parliament's sustained, unified effort that helped push this breakthrough," she added. "Now, time to stand strong. Iran will be free."

Prominent Iranian dissident Hamed Esmaeilion welcomed the European Union’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, calling the move long overdue and accusing the force of systematic violence.

Esmaeilion lost his wife and daughter in 2020 when the IRGC shot down Ukrainian passenger plane PS752.

“The killers of the Revolutionary Guard have finally been placed in the European Union where they belong,” he posted on X.

Esmailion described the IRGC as an organisation that “has nothing but cruelty and killing in its repertoire,” echoing long-standing accusations by victims’ families and opposition figures that the Guard lies at the heart of repression inside Iran and violent operations beyond its borders.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf criticized the European Union for deciding to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, calling the Revolutionary Guards among the world’s most effective “counterterrorism forces.”

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is one of the strongest and most effective anti-terrorism forces in the world; only those who stand on the side of the terrorists themselves could deny the IRGC's record in the fight against ISIS terrorism," he said in a post on X.

"Supporting terrorism will bring nothing but regret to the European countries," he added.

The European Union will move rapidly to implement a legally binding designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, Germany’s foreign minister said on Wednesday, calling the decision long overdue.

In a statement issued on January 29, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the designation sent a strong political message and showed that the EU recognised the scale of repression inside Iran.

“The next step will be the rapid implementation towards a legally binding listing,” he said, adding that the bloc stood “side by side with the Iranian people” and opposed repression.

Wadephul accused the Revolutionary Guard and its auxiliary forces of attacking protesters with extreme violence, carrying out executions, and playing a destabilising role across the Middle East.

“In short, they have blood on their hands,” he added.

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi hailed the EU’s move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, calling it an important signal that the Islamic Republic lacks global legitimacy and urging further concrete action to protect Iranians.

"This important step sends a message to the criminal regime that it has no global legitimacy," he posted on X. "We now need further concrete action to protect the Iranian people and to support a legitimate transitional government leading Iran to democracy."

“I welcome the political agreement on new sanctions against the murderous Iranian regime and on the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. This was long overdue,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X.

“‘Terrorist’ is indeed how you call a regime that crushes its own people’s protests in blood. Europe stands with the people of Iran in their brave fight for freedom,” she added.

The EU’s foreign policy chief says EU foreign ministers have taken a decisive step toward designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.

“Repression cannot go unanswered. EU foreign ministers just took the decisive step of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” Kaja Kallas said.

The European Union on Thursday imposed new sanctions on four Iranian individuals and six entities over Tehran’s military support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, targeting those involved in Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programmes, according to an implementing regulation published in the EU’s Official Journal.

Those listed include Amir Radfar, director of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group linked to Iran’s ballistic missile production, and Hossein Bakshayesh, head of Sahara Thunder, a company the EU said acts as a front for Iran’s defence ministry and supplies drones and components to Russia.

Several companies were sanctioned for facilitating the transfer of Iranian-made UAVs, missile technology and components to Moscow, including Sahara Thunder, Fanavaran Sanat Ertebatat Company, Khojir Missile Development and Production, and shipping and logistics firms accused of supporting weapons deliveries.

The EU said Iran-produced drones and missiles have been used by Russia in attacks on civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine, describing the transfers as a violation of international law and a threat to European security. The measures include asset freezes and travel bans and took effect immediately upon publication on Thursday.