The European Union on Thursday designated the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist organisation, accusing it of killing “thousands of its own people.”In social media post on X, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote, “Repression cannot go unanswered.”
“Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” he added. Meanwhile, Iran’s military slammed EU’s move to put country’s Revolutionary Guards in category similar to that of Islamic State and al Qaeda. It claimed that the decision was “irresponsible and spite driven.”“The illogical, irresponsible and spite-driven action of the European Union has undoubtedly been taken in unquestioning obedience to the hegemonic and anti-human policies of the United States and the Zionist (Israeli) regime,” a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces carried by the official IRNA news agency said.While some EU member states have previously pushed for the IRGC to be added to the EU’s terrorist list, others have been more cautious, fearing that it could hinder communication with Iran’s government and endanger European citizens in the country. But a brutal crackdown on a nationwide protest movement earlier this month, killing thousands, increased momentum for the move.“It’s important that we send this signal that the bloodshed that we’ve seen, the bestiality of the violence that’s been used against protesters, cannot be tolerated,” Dutch foreign minister David van Weel said on Thursday morning. France and Italy, which were previously reluctant to list the IRGC, lent their backing this week.This comes after many citizens were killed and thousands of them were imprisoned in Iran after a protest spurred out across the country over the declining economy.
