Europe’s sanctions against the IRGC: a warning or a show of power
According to Iran Gate, the European Parliament has declared the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) as a terrorist organization. In a resolution passed with a decisive majority in Strasbourg, the European Union and its member states are urged to include the IRGC in the EU’s list of designated terrorist organizations. It is said that the IRGC is responsible for the deaths of at least 481 people since the start of the protests. The European Parliament has called for the inclusion of the IRGC in the list of terrorist organizations.
The proposed amendment by Anna Fotyga, a Polish representative in the European Parliament on behalf of The European Conservatives and Reformists group, has been approved with 598 votes in favor, 9 votes against, and 31 abstentions in the Strasbourg session. However, this vote does not bind the European Union to take action. The foreign ministers of the EU member states are expected to discuss the intensification of sanctions against Tehran in the upcoming Brussels meeting.
A decisive majority that indicates a new irreversible point in the relations between the Brussels Parliament and the authorities in Tehran considers the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an armed entity established in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini to defend Islamic institutions, as a quasi-military terrorist group, aiming at delegitimizing a governmental organization and ultimately the Islamic Republic of Iran itself.
In a text approved on January 18, the Parliament calls on the European Union and its member states to include the IRGC in the list of terrorist organizations due to its terrorist activities, suppression of protesters, and sending drones to Russia. This urges Brussels to blacklist the military forces of the IRGC and the paramilitary Basij forces involved in suppressing protests, as well as the covert forces of the Quds Force that have been deployed abroad to expand the Iranian revolution.
This will have an impact on any economic and financial activity related to businesses and commercial activities of individuals affiliated with the IRGC or the IRGC itself, regardless of the country in which they operate.
According to Members of the European Parliament, the responsible guardians are suppressing severe protests that have been taking place in Iran since four months ago. According to the latest bulletin published by an Iranian human rights NGO, the crackdown has left at least 481 victims, including 64 children and 35 women.
Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, who participated in a solidarity march with the people of Iran in Strasbourg on Monday, January 16, stated during the opening of the General Assembly that the people are making history on the streets of Iran, and we will stand by their side.
The European Parliament once again emphasized its support for the peaceful protest movement that has spread throughout the country, condemning the excessive violence, intimidation, and use of force by the police and security forces against the protesters.
Some capitals of the European Union have started their move towards adding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the list of terrorist organizations. This action puts another important pillar of the Islamic Republic government at risk of sanctions. In the past, some resisted this request, fearing that it would undermine and severely damage Iran’s relations with the West. But these days, it seems that Europe’s position is becoming tougher.
Didier Reynders, the European Union Commissioner for Justice, said earlier this week in the European Parliament, ‘I guarantee that all options that allow the European Union to react to events in Iran will remain on the table.’
The European Parliament is not the first Western institution to propose placing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the list of terrorist groups. In 2019, during President Trump’s term, this proposal was also suggested by him.
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